Part deux of the double update special!

And it's here, you guys. The moment you've all been waiting for. After over sixty chapters of UST/beating around the bush/guilt trips over Kairi and revenge, it's finally happening. I feel like I didn't too well writing the actual thing, but in light of all the weight that's carried behind this one scene, I doubt it will matter. Seriously, guys - so epic I was actually shaking as I was typing it.

Enjoy. As I know you will. ;)

Disclaimer- Don't own KH.

After entering the Gummi ship, Donald had settled into the pilot's seat – as the chair was still pushed close to the controls from when he'd piloted the ship here – and Goofy had made a beeline to the refrigerator to see what they had, since they had spent so long in Hollow Bastion and dinner was now upon them. Settling into one of the chairs at the table, Sora agreed with his two original companions that having spent the entire afternoon fighting with only a scant bowl of peaches for sustenance wasn't exactly smart.

Once they had soared through the rip in the realm of darkness and reached the world between worlds, Char had left for the bathroom, saying that after everything that had happened, she needed a shower more than anything else. Sora had never understood how just standing up with water running around him could clear his head, but he supposed for some people it seemed to work just fine.

He watched the dark brown of her jacket vanish behind the door so subtly labeled 'BATHROOM' before turning back to his companions. "I don't know how she could do that now," he remarked with a sigh. "I'm so tired I don't think I could stand up long enough to shower."

Goofy, who was still rummaging through the refrigerator, glanced over his shoulder at the brunette. "But you two were fighting a lot longer than us two, right?"

"Yeah," Donald called from the pilot's seat, "because someone decided to get hit in the head with a giant rock and almost die."

The pointed reminder made the knight chuckle sheepishly and run a finger under his nose before he returned to his task. A beat, during which Sora heard the water begin running in the bathroom, then Goofy said, "Hey, d'you guys want pasta or hamburgers?"

"I don't care," Sora said with a shrug. "I'm so hungry I could eat a Heartless."

As it turned out, the comparison, playful as it was, was entirely the wrong one to speak aloud, since it brought up the memory of all the revelations of today. The virtual world; Xemnas' identity; having almost found Kairi only to lose her again; Saïx taunting Sora about Riku; the group's destroying Heartless actually helping the Organization rather than hindering it…

And above all, the possibility of Char knowing more about Riku's fate than she let on.

Despite the trust in her that crowded in on Sora's doubt and insisted on believing her over Xemnas, the skepticism outmatched the part of him that denied Xemnas' words. Unconsciously, the brunette brought up his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them, staring out the window to the green clouds floating beyond.

Donald flicked a switch, causing the Gummi ship to shift slightly before calming down, and hopped off the pilot seat. "There we go," he said as he trotted up to the table, "putting it in autopilot should keep us here for the night, so –"

He halted abruptly then, as he had leaped into the chair next to Sora and seen the look on his leader's face. "Sora, are you okay?" he asked, brusqueness replaced by worry.

Lifting his head, Sora blinked a couple of times before his better judgment kicked in and told him to stay strong. "Yeah," he replied. "Just… thinking about what Saïx told us today. About Kingdom Hearts, and the Keyblade…"

He had to stop then, because just thinking about it was making his heart hurt.

The words that desperation had pushed out of him earlier floated up to the forefront of his mind, buoyed by the current of melancholia that ran through his entire body. Maybe everything we've done… maybe it was all for nothing.

He could almost hear Char snorting you don't really believe that, do you? and suddenly wanted to cry.

"Oh yeah," Donald murmured, oddly subdued. Even Goofy stopped in his movement of placing a fourth hamburger patty on the grill; his shoulders slumped visibly, and he placed his hands at the very edge of the counter.

"Y'don't really believe that, do you, Sora?" the dog asked, so softly that the Keybearer had to strain to hear.

He shrugged, not knowing what else to do, before remembering that Goofy couldn't see the gesture and speaking aloud. "I don't know, Goofy. What am I supposed to believe anymore? I mean, it makes sense…"

"And then there's that thing Xemnas said about Char," Donald commented, an uncharacteristic hint of hesitation in his voice, as though he knew the pain that bringing up any suspicion on Char would cause Sora.

Sure enough, that induced a visible flinch from the boy, who fought the mighty urge to bury his face in his upraised knees and never look back up again. Right after we started to trust her again and everything… "Yeah," was all he said.

"Do you mean about Riku?" Goofy queried, turning the dial on the side of the grill that would turn it on.

"Yeah," Sora repeated, this time even more quietly than before.

Donald folded his arms. "I bet you anything that guy was just trying to get to us. How could Char know anything about Riku?"

Because she knew about Roxas, and the Organization, and everything in between, Sora wanted to say, but remained silent.

"Guess you're right," Goofy said after a moment. "Still, uh, shouldn't we ask Char about it when she gets back?"

And there it was: the crux of the matter, the reason why Sora had avoided speaking up till now. Because he knew he would have to do that eventually, but he didn't want to shatter the newfound peace that had come about between the four of them, the peace that had lasted barely a day. He didn't want to resurrect the suspicion and distrust and paranoia that had surrounded them since their return from the Pride Lands, the feelings whose impetus had been Roxas' untimely appearance.

Sora didn't want the return of that tension to be Riku's fault as well.

And yet – every bit of sorrow and uncertainty had already been caused by Riku, at least indirectly, right? Sora blinked at the odd turn his thoughts had taken, but did not try to fight the truth of them. If Riku had wanted to be found, he probably would have shown up already, Sora realized that much; but the knowledge didn't stop the disappointment every time he approached a new world's native and asked about Riku, only to get a shaken head and bemused response.

He surfaced from his reverie long enough to hear Donald say, "Maybe we shouldn't."

That made the brunette turn a surprised gaze to the duck. "Donald?"

"Well," the mage said hastily, "obviously there's one of two things happening here. One, Xemnas is lying, which is probably what's going on. Two, Char knows what happened to Riku. If she wanted to tell us, she would have, right?" When only silence greeted his words, he jumped up to stand on his chair and stomped his foot. "What?" he demanded.

"Gawrsh, Donald, you never give Char the benefit of the doubt," Goofy said, surprised.

"Yeah," Sora added, a bit of genuine playfulness making its way into his voice. "You're not going soft on us, now are you, Donald?"

"Of course not," Donald grumbled.

Sora and Goofy shared a few moments of amusement at Donald's expense, but even that too soon faded, leaving Sora alone with his thoughts again. "Anyway, though…" He sighed, ignoring the way his stomach growled at the delicious smell of cooking burgers that the inhalation brought to his nose. "I can't keep using the Keyblade; that would only help the Organization."

"But Sora," Goofy said, "I think you have to keep using it. If you don't, the Heartless'll keep on hurtin' folks."

He was right, of course; that didn't stop the bolt of hesitation that shot across Sora's consciousness before he replied. "I guess you're right," he conceded; but remembering the two hearts that had floated up from the Dark Depths, and Saïx's triumphant smile right afterward made him more uncertain.

Sensing they were badly in need of a subject change, Donald quickly spoke up, plopping back down onto the chair as he did so. "So what do you guys think of that box we got?" he asked.

Box…? Sora's confusion petered off instantly when the duck gave him an expectant glare, and he abruptly recalled the photograph still in his pocket. "I don't know," he said, grateful for the chance to not think about Riku and Char and the Organization. Reaching into his pocket, he quickly found the photo – it was easily distinguishable by its smooth texture – and placed it on the table.

"Who d'you guys think left it?" Goofy wondered, flipping one of the burgers.

Donald shrugged. "The guy was wearing an Organization cloak," he remembered.

"But why would a Nobody want us to see a picture of another Nobody?" the knight pointed out.

"And give us ice cream, too?" Donald smacked his bill, a blissful look coming across his face as he remembered the taste of the ice cream bar before it had become the key to leaving the dark realm. "Yeah, you're right. It probably wasn't one of the Organization."

"Then, uh, who was it?" Goofy mused, leaning over the burgers before giving an appreciative nod and flipping another one.

"Like I know!"

While the two Disney residents talked, Sora continued staring at the photograph on the table. Now that the danger had mostly left, he allowed himself to spend more time examining the picture of his Nobody and the Twilight Town trio. Again, he wondered at the genuine, albeit subdued, smile on Roxas' face; it seemed that only being with friends could bring out that side of him.

Which again begged the question: when had Roxas ever met and befriended Hayner, Pence, and Olette? Char's suggestion about asking the trio about Roxas the next time they got to Twilight Town came back to Sora again, but at the rate they'd been going, it could be another three weeks before he returned to there.

Straightening, he allowed his legs to slide out from under him and return to swinging under the table in order to get a better look at the photograph. He put a finger against Roxas' face and traced the outline of the boy's silhouette on the photograph thoughtfully. For some reason, Sora had the feeling that the last time he had seen this picture, Roxas had been conspicuously absent.

"Hey, Sora!"

He glanced up, only to let out a surprised cry and nearly fall backward out of his chair when white feathers and dark eyes filled his vision. "Don't do that, Donald!" he panted.

Rolling his eyes, the mage sat back in his chair. "Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "But what do you think?" At Sora's blank expression, he huffed loudly and elaborated. "About who gave us this picture?"

Sora shrugged. "Riku?"

That made Donald blink. "You think?"

"Well, who else would've showed up and then vanished?"

"Maybe you're right," Goofy said from in front of the grill. "Just wonderin', though: why would Riku be dressed like an Organization member?"

Sora opened his mouth, then remembered he knew nothing about that and sighing. "I don't know. It's… just a feeling I have."

"What's going on out here?"

Char's voice from the entrance to the bathroom made the others turn and look. She stepped out into the kitchen area, still tousling her damp hair with one hand and appraising them with an interested expression. Although she looked slightly exhausted and scratches still littered her arms, the shower seemed to have facilitated her recovering her energy; her eyes were fairly bright – though not near to the extent as they had been at the Dark Depths, which Sora still wondered about – and her voice sounded level enough. However, his thankfulness about that ebbed when he remembered what Xemnas had said, and he turned away without saying anything.

"A feeling about what?" she pressed, walking over to sit on Sora's other side. She leaned over the table to try and get a glimpse of the brunette's expression, but he didn't look over. Char thought she understood why; after what Xemnas had said…

It's not like it's a lie – but I can't let Sora know. No matter how badly I want to.

"Sora thinks Riku's the one who left us the picture of Roxas," Goofy explained, pivoting around with a plate of freshly-cooked hamburgers.

Char's eyes widened at seeing the food; immediately, upon absorbing both the sight and scent of the meat, her stomach began crying out and begging for sustenance in a way that the adrenaline-filled battles of the day had suppressed. "Those look amazing, Goofy," she said with an uncontrollable smile.

Sora risked peeking over his shoulder and saw her happiness at dinner was genuine. In spite of himself, he felt a stab of guilty relief; she hadn't meant to change the subject, but it had happened nonetheless.

Dinner was a fairly silent affair. Char was intensely grateful that the others constantly shoving food down their throats kept them from discussing the events of the day, especially the events of the last hour or so; just thinking of the revelations that had occurred in the Dark Depths made both her head and heart hurt.

Mostly, though, she was just angry that she had not figured out Xemnas' intentions sooner. Every ounce of her – their – research in the past had all but revolved around hearts; the fact that she had conveniently forgotten where Heartless' burdens went upon being destroyed by a Keyblade nagged at her, gnawed at her pride in the steady way a termite would upon the supporting beams of a house, continuing until the house crumbled.

She focused on cutting her patty; in his hurry to get dinner together, Goofy had forgotten all about getting buns and condiments, but she didn't quite feel up to pointing out his error. Come to think of it, she realized, she wouldn't mind if they just stayed silent about this day for however long the journey lasted. If ignorance was bliss, then she would've loved to be happy.

It looked like that would not happen anytime soon, though. Especially in light of the two other main blows to her relationship with Sora, both of which ironically involved Riku and Kairi. Char genuinely respected both of Sora's best friends – Riku because of their time spent together, and Kairi because it took serious courage to stand up to an Organization member like Axel the way she had – but now she found herself cursing both of them. It was idiotic, and Char knew she should be able to push the resentment aside; but the feeling remained and refused to leave.

Xemnas knew she knew about Riku; and then there was Kairi. The Oathkeeper Keychain still lay heavy in her pocket, the only thing there since she had used all the healing items she had packed earlier today. Remembering Sora crouching down in front of Saïx, forsaking all his pride and begging the very man he should hate the most just to get Kairi back, Char had to fight with every muscle in her body from just excusing herself right then and there to run to her room and cry.

Fortunately for her, though, Sora saved her from having to battle her own damnable vulnerability any longer. "I'm full," he announced, pushing his empty plate toward the center of the table.

Goofy gazed at him with worried eyes, which was a valid gesture, considering that not only would Sora be chatting at mealtime, he would also clean his plate and then ask for more. "Are you sure?" the dog asked.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to go shower and then get some sleep." He threw in the first part mostly for Char's benefit, because somehow he got the feeling only mentioning going to sleep without cleansing himself would disgust her beyond words.

Char, however, was more focused on quickly taking that opportunity to follow suit. "Think I'm gonna go, too," she said, with a fairly convincing yawn. "It's… been kind of a long day." Everyone flinched at the massive understatement. Now that she had given her body permission to just go to sleep, her muscles were crying out for rest, but Char forced herself to try and be polite anyway. "Do you need help cleaning the table?" she asked, inclining her head to Goofy.

Sora blinked; inwardly chided himself for not thinking that far ahead. But Goofy only shook his head. "Don't worry about it, guys. I guess I owe ya for almost dyin' earlier."

"Darn right you do," Donald said, though his voice sounded tight, as though he were holding back more emotion than he was letting on. Char allowed a tiny smirk to cross her face and risked exchanging a glance with Sora. For once, she thought, she was the one who so desperately wanted absolution, to forget about whatever had caused a rift between them, however temporary.

However, the brunette only returned her smile with a rather pathetic one of his own. "Okay," he said, standing, "I'm off."

As soon as the door closed behind him, he let out a soft sigh and looked in the mirror. Predictably, exhaustion and sorrow and conflict was written all over his face and in his bloodshot blue eyes, and his normally-unruly spiky hair had a thin layer of sweat and dust to it.

He turned to the tub and sighed. Last thing before you go to bed, he told himself.

The words sounded so completely like something Char would say – complete with motherly annoyance – that he wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time.

Char left the table not long after Sora, when Donald's accusing stare and Goofy's nervously dodging around the question that still hung in the air – how do you know about Riku how? – became too much to bear. She rapidly excused herself and made a beeline for her room. Almost as soon as she stepped over the threshold, she flopped down on her back on her bed, dimly noting how she had failed to align the pillows when she had made it this morning. Fish nets are on the floor, too, she noted, spotting the vestiges of her Halloween Town outfit lying not too far from beneath the bed.

She knew she should probably get up and start cleaning while she was thinking about it, but her fatigue took over her better judgment and desire for order and whined for her to just stay and wait for sleep. A chuckle escaped her as she stretched out on the bed, pushing the heel of her hand into one eye and gazing at the ceiling with the other. Either Sora's messiness was rubbing off on her, or she was more tired than she thought.

To distract herself from Sora and his love for a girl that wasn't her, the redhead listened to Donald and Goofy talking just down the hall. At least Goofy was making an effort to speak in a more hushed tone; Donald's squawk was just as rambunctious as ever, though at one point, when Goofy's rumble carried a reproving tone, Donald toned himself down considerably. Hearing that made a smile dart across Char's face.

Almost against her will, she found herself reaching into her pocket and taking out the Oathkeeper Keychain. Lifting it up and holding it up to the light, she frowned and examined it. Strange, she mused, how such an innocent object filled her with so much fear and heartbreak all at once.

Is she that important to you?

Of course she is! She's one of my best friends!

Aloud, Char snorted. Friends. Right. The last time she checked, friends didn't almost kill themselves just to help their other friend. She should know; she had almost sacrificed herself for Sora more than once, and although at first she had only done that out of obligation to Riku's promise – her scarred leg could testify to that – gradually, as love had crept on her, it had turned into a duty, almost.

Char sighed, lowering the arm that held the Oathkeeper, and closed her eyes, lashes brushing against the hand still over one eye. Sleep. That was the best thing for her right now. Unfortunately, now that she had begun contemplating Sora's feelings, sleep eluded her more frustratingly than ever.

She didn't know how long she lay there, staring at the darkness on the inside of her eyelids; hell, for all she knew, she may have fallen asleep. However, she did know that the next thing she knew, footsteps growing closer outside her door made her open her eyes and turn her head to look out the door. Just as she realized she had forgotten to close the door, a familiar black-clad form walked by her door, fingers teasing damp brown spikes as he passed.

Sora?

Char sat up, staring after him. It occurred to her that if she really wanted to talk to him and find out exactly how he felt about Kairi – if she still had a chance – no other better time would ever come.

I can't, she thought fleetingly, her heartbeat already spiking to almost dangerous levels, he's tired, we're both tired, but the prideful part of her kept nagging at her and telling her to stop making excuses until she finally just got up and pocketed the Oathkeeper Keychain and left her room.

Sora closed the door to his room behind him and walked over to his bed, nearly tripping over the haphazardly-scattered pillow lying right by the entrance in the process. Picking up the offending object, he gave it a half-hearted glare before sighing and taking it with him across the room to his bed.

As he rolled onto the mussed covers, he reached up around his neck to unhook the crown necklace he always wore. Unfortunately for him, after placing it on the nightstand next to the bed, he'd run out of trivial obligations to distract him from the heart of the matter: that he had been unintentionally helping his enemies this entire time.

He tried to keep the despair from flooding his mind as best he could, but what with Char and Riku and Kairi and everything else, it proved more difficult than it seemed. Sooner than he would have liked, the despondency slipped into his heart with all the deadly causticity of a poisonous fog, filling the nooks and making him unable to feel much else.

His fingers reached into his pocket and pulled out the Keychain for the Photon Debugger. Then the Circle of Life, then the Hero's Crest, and on and on, until the Kingdom Key that always accompanied him lay with its fellows scattered on the bed next to him.

Sitting up, Sora lightly fingered the flame-shaped charm of the Hidden Dragon before pushing it together with the Star Seeker's crescent moon. The memories of all he had experienced before acquiring these Keychains – meeting Mulan and Yen Sid; watching the mountain village burn and learning about the Nobodies; Char's rage at Ryou's death and the fairies handing Sora a crimson orb – rushed through Sora's mind at just feeling the smooth texture of the charms beneath the pads of his fingers. The same nostalgia assailed him when he brought the other Keychains together: he remembered Phil and Hercules; Jack Sparrow and Will Turner; Simba and Nala.

This journey – and his last one, as well – had taken Sora to so many places, made him strong. And yet now he couldn't help but wonder if he really deserved the massive power granted to him just by virtue of holding the Keyblade.

You hold the mightiest weapon of all, the voice had whispered to him, way back then on that stained-glass platform in his dreams. Back then Sora had dismissed the oddness of the dream as just a product of too much salt in the air; his parents were always telling him spending too much time playing on the shore could have that effect on him, after all.

But then the Heartless had come, and Sora didn't even know if he still had parents left to chide him about staying out well after hours.

Quickly, he scooped the Keychains together and shoved them back into their respective pocket. For some reason, though, it felt like something was missing from his growing collection, a feeling that Sora couldn't understand.

A knock at the door roused him from his thoughts, making him glance up. The thought of not answering flitted across his mind – or maybe just pretending he was asleep – but he knew he couldn't exactly ignore whoever stood just outside now. Not after everything that had happened today. Of course they would be concerned and want to know he was still okay.

So the Keybearer stifled a sigh and called out, "Come in. It's open."

In hindsight, he supposed he should have expected the door swinging open to reveal the girl who had followed him this far. But seeing her standing there, leaning slightly to one side in what was almost an uncertain stance, still elicited mild surprise from him.

"Hey, Char," he greeted.

"Hi," Char answered quietly.

Sora hesitated, fidgeted a little bit with the hand that lay behind his back on the bed. Not knowing what else to say, he blustered, "Uh, so what's up?"

He cringed at how stupid he sounded, but oddly, Char chose not to comment on his haste to get to the point. Guilty as the notion made him feel, Sora knew why her presence produced so much nervousness on his part. Aside from the obvious context of having the girl he was in love with alone in his room, Xemnas' indictment about her and Riku hung thickly in the forefront of the brunette's thoughts.

Ask her now, he urged himself, now's as good a time as any, but he did what he had always done regarding her personal boundaries and waited for her to speak first.

It took her a few moments to process his question; she blinked a couple of times before answering. "Not much," she said with a shrug. "Just… wondering how you are. After today."

The visible tensing of her shoulders right after saying that told Sora she was probably mentally berating herself for sounding so inarticulate; the thought almost amused him, knowing she still hadn't changed in that regard. "Oh," he said, looking away at one of the other pillows his sleeping habits had thrown on the floor. Suddenly self-conscious, he leaned down and picked it up. He found himself hugging it to his chest like a teddy bear before he could stop himself, gleaning a rather embarrassing amount of comfort from the soft fabric against his bare collarbone.

Char must have seen his childish gesture, because the corners of her lips actually lifted a bit. "Cuddling a pillow, Key-boy?" she commented dryly, moving to sit beside him on the bed.

Sora couldn't think of a good retort; he was really just glad she had recovered her typical sarcasm, however briefly. So he just mumbled an obligatory shut up and watched her settle beside him. It occurred to him, with a rush of heat along his spine, that his bed was much less wide than it was long, and with her next to him like this, it would take a relatively small amount of effort to just reach over and –

Déjà vu, he thought, this happened the last time she was in here.

Last time, though, she hadn't been as visibly distraught; last time, she had just come to apologize about her behavior in Halloween Town. Somehow, Sora couldn't bring himself to think she was apologizing again.

It'd definitely be nice, though. Especially with what she's hiding about Ri –

"How do you think Leon and the others are doing now?" Char inquired, cutting into his thoughts.

With a jolt, Sora looked back at her. Strangely, only the slightest hint of her wanting to just change the subject lurked in her eyes and in her occasional shifting on the bed; she seemed genuinely concerned about the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee.

"I don't know," he admitted, gazing down at his lap. "We didn't exactly stay long enough to find out." The fact sent a fresh wave of guilt flowing through him.

Char shrugged. "Well, in our defense, we really couldn't have."

"True." After a beat, Sora continued, "They're probably fine. All the Heartless and Nobodies were gone even before we left."

"Yeah," Char nodded, "and I doubt Saïx or Xemnas had time to put more Nobodies in Hollow Bastion right before they left…"

Her voice trailed off as the realization that she had unintentionally brought up the very causes of this entire dilemma, and she jerked her head away, so quickly that her hair swung to cover the side of her face, effectively concealing her reaction. Sora tried to peer beyond her hair to see her, but predictably, the effort to find either redemption or condemnation in her eyes failed.

With a soft sigh, he gazed up at the ceiling, thinking back on everything he had learned, both about Char and about the Organization. And about myself, too, he thought, remembering Roxas and Anxclof's true identities. At least he wouldn't have to worry about the latter anymore, according to Char; he thought about asking her about it, but before he could, Char spoke, still not looking at him.

"I didn't know anything about it, you know."

"Huh?" Sora asked intelligently, swinging his head back down to at least look at the curtain of dark red hair.

"About the Organization's intentions for you, I mean," the redhead affirmed, so quietly he had to strain to hear. Once he caught it, though, he could not suppress a murmur of surprise; was that a tremble he detected in her voice? "I didn't put together the whole thing about Kingdom Hearts until Axel practically spelled it out for us."

Remembering the ineffable shock that had taken over her at Axel's revelation, Sora realized he believed her. "So you didn't know about it?" he asked, just for confirmation.

Char huffed, a spark of her old self returning, if only for an instant. "Don't you think I would have told you if I did? I told you just about everything else."

While her words sounded firm enough, the distinctive tremor in her voice intensified ever so slightly at the last part, as if she didn't quite believe what she was saying. And Sora felt his eyes widen and something in his heart give way.

Because while before all this – before today – he would have just dismissed her hesitation as her desire to keep some secrets and left it at that, in light of Xemnas' words and Char's little sleep-talking back in Port Royal, just the shaking of her voice, just that slight hesitation, practically served as a red flag, telling him she wasn't telling the whole truth.

She was keeping secrets, even after he'd established she could trust him with every part of her.

Char looked over at the flicker of movement in her periphery, only to give a start when she saw Sora had risen to his feet and was eyeing her with a suspicious glare. "Sora…?"
"You didn't tell us everything. Did you?" He didn't intend for so much poison to ooze from the lacunae in his heart and into his voice, and knew he should calm down before Donald and Goofy came in wondering what was going on; but somehow he couldn't quite summon up the energy to care.

Char narrowed her eyes, beginning to stand as well. "Of course I –"

"No!" Sora cut her off, so abruptly that she actually fell back onto the bed, staring at him in undisguised bemusement. Although she wasn't exactly one to be cowed by simple shouting to begin with, Sora still felt his anger intensify at her lack of proper acknowledgment to his raised voice, and it showed as he barreled on, heedless. "Didn't you hear what Xemnas said?" he went on, voice rising to a crescendo he hadn't used since Riku had dropped a water balloon on his head in fifth grade. "He said you knew something about Riku. That you know where he is. So why haven't you told us?"

By the end of his little tirade, Sora was breathing hard from the force of his fury, and as a result, could barely get in enough air to so much as whisper the next part. "Why haven't you told me?" he asked in what almost sounded like a whimper.

Char stared at him, her own chest heaving even though she hadn't been shouting. Meeting her gaze, Sora realized he could detect a desperate longing there, longing for him to just understand.

He would have continued speaking, but she beat him to it.

"Don't act like you're the only one who's done something wrong," she hissed, rising to her feet. And even though they stood at the same height, even though the remains of his anger still crackled like dying flames in the air, Sora found himself leaning away just a bit as she stepped right up to him and let her rage-filled blue eyes glare into his. "Like today. With Saïx, about Kairi. I just loved how you tried to hide your feelings behind the whole 'she's my best friend!' bullcrap," she snarled, punctuating the words Sora had spoken by raising her voice a couple of octaves.

In spite of her own ire proving to drastically outmatch his – ire that had, it hit Sora with a pang, obviously percolated within her since that moment he had fallen to his knees in front of Saïx – the brunette frowned. "I don't sound like that," he protested.

Ignoring him, Char blazed on. "Well, guess what, Sora? No one's falling for that. Not even me. Especially not me," she added in a ragged snarl. "After everything you've done for me on this stupid, stupid journey – all the hugs and almost-kisses and making me want to kiss you, of all the damned things – after all that…" She gulped in a couple of desperate breaths. "You can't just lead me on like that and then do what you did."

Sora's eyes widened as the ceiling light glanced off the intense brightness of her eyes. "Char…"

"Don't speak!" she shrieked, jabbing a finger so fiercely into his chest that he actually felt the shockwaves reverberate from where they made contact. "Just… just shut up and listen. You know what hurts the most?" She let out a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle, so broken in timbre – so unnatural, hearing it in her voice – that it made hot tears itch at the back of Sora's eyes as well. "Knowing we've been through so much together, and yet today, I realized you would never get on your knees like that for me."

If the embers in the wake of Sora's anger had smoldered conspicuously, they paled in comparison to Char's. He could almost see the fraying rope of her trust and friendship toward him dissolving under the heat and strength of the fires evoked by her feelings – and, at the same time, of the feelings her words were producing in him. Unnatural as her vulnerability was, it also made his heart pound and his mouth open slightly to get more air in as the pieces fell into place.

Char fixed her glower back on him, and even though she made no move to cover or wipe away the tears flowing freely down her face, her next words came out so torn by tears that he barely understood them.

"Which kind of sucks, you know? Because I've protected you – fought for you, almost gotten crippled for you, protected you every time so much as a freaking wadded-up spitball from the Heartless comes flying your way. And yet…"

She took a deep, shaky breath, before saying the words that sent every part of what Sora thought he knew about her feelings toward him tumbling into blessed, blissful orbit.

"You're the reason I fight," she finished, "and you don't even seem to notice."

For Sora, it was like another red flag flew up in his mind. Except this one didn't encourage him to prod her and push at her for the truth; it was telling him something different entirely.

"You can have this," she spat, reaching into her pocket and throwing something at him. "I've been keeping it safe for you." She said the last part almost mockingly, even as Sora leaned down and picked up the object.

It was the Oathkeeper Keychain.

She was just turning and making for the door – had placed one hand on the knob, actually – when he cried out, "Wait!" without actually expecting her to stop.

If she was contemplating just leaving, though, Sora could not tell; either way, she froze with her fingers splayed over the knob, then slowly pivoted back around. In light of her outburst, the lack of anger on her face now was almost jarring; now, the brunette thought, she just looked drained. Exhausted.

"What?" she asked, simply.

Sora hesitated, before it hit him that nothing he did would probably change things. Even if he was wrong and he lost a limb at doing what he so badly wanted to do next, he figured it wouldn't hurt near as much as having her scream at him and all but losing any ounce of respect she may have felt for him.

So, feeling strangely free, he stepped forward. Naturally, Char responded by moving away, until her back met the door and she couldn't escape. The hand on the doorknob flexed for a moment before falling uselessly back down to her side, and the notion crossed Sora's mind that maybe escape was the last thing on her mind.

He could see her trembling all over, especially when he halted and gazed at her, taking her in: the tired eyes, the way her mouth had half-opened to draw in more air, and above all, the tears that still made their steady way down her face and left tracks in their wake. The sight of the latter distressed him, and he found himself reaching up and precluding the tears in their tracks with his thumb on her cheekbone. The touch lingered, and her tremors intensified even more, if possible.

He thought he saw her open her mouth to say something, and quickly leaned in before she could complete the process.

Contrary to what the romance novels he had stolen from Kairi advertised, the kiss didn't send fires and supernovas and volcano eruptions thrilling through Sora's blood. If anything, it was a chaste, inexperienced process, and clearly Char had forgotten to breathe through her nose at first, if her mouth shifting against his briefly before relaxing was any indication.

But it was sweet, and warm, and no matter how awkward, he could practically feel her melting against him. Just that – and the thought that she'd been waiting for this almost as long as he had – left a soft, tingling sensation moving lazily all over Sora's body. That feeling intensified when he felt Char tentatively bring up her hands to press against his chest, and when her fingers brushed over his collarbone.

All he could think, as he inhaled her cinnamon scent and let it steal all his air and opened his eyes long enough to see to place his other hand against the side of her neck, was that this brought him a kind of content he had never experienced before.

All too soon, though, the two of them remembered reality. Char pulled back first, though hindered significantly by the fact that the back of her head was already pushed against the door. Reluctantly, Sora followed suit.

Right then and there, it hit him, what he had done: he'd given away his first kiss to a girl he'd barely known a month, whereas he'd always pictured it would be Kairi first. Moreover, he had enjoyed kissing someone who wasn't Kairi a little too much.

Quickly, he turned his head away, hating the guilt that rose up within him at the champagne-like bubbling that was just now starting to die down. "I –" he began, then stopped. "We –" he tried again, then stopped with a groan. This wasn't going well at all.

"Right," Char muttered, pushing her hair out of her face and staring determinedly at the ground. "That… right."

They stood there for a few more moments, during which Sora fidgeted openly and Char tried very hard not to do the schoolgirl-ish thing and brush her fingers against her lips. Then, with a herculean effort, Char looked back at him.

"I'm tired," she announced abruptly. "Going to, uh… go to bed. That was nice," she added quickly, hoping the words didn't sound too much like an afterthought. Because she meant every word. It wasn't exactly romance novel-worthy – if anything, just thinking of how she had barely kept herself from just giving in and opening her mouth against his made her cringe inwardly – but at least he had gotten her mouth on the first try, which was more than she could say for Ienzo when they were both ten.

And why was she thinking of Ienzo at a time like this, when the boy she loved and who loved her back – the thought buoyed her up far more than she would have liked, but it was a half-hearted annoyance that greeted that thought – was standing here, warm and alive and real, in front of her?

Sora blinked, taking in her words; then a breathless grin spread across his face. "I, um… Thanks."

Char nodded briskly, then nodded again, as if to reassure herself. At least there's no doubt about him and Kairi now. "Good night," she said, and turned to leave. Sora stood there a few more moments before grinning even more impossibly widely and calling after her, "Night!"

His voice made her stop at the door, hand on the doorknob again, and turn to face him. For some reason her hormones chose then to kick in and hope desperately that he would repeat what he had done the last time she was in this situation and just kiss her again, but she pushed those aside and appraised him.

"Wipe that grin off your face," she said at last, yet with a smile of her own.

She opened the door and left, only allowing her smile to broaden once the door had swung shut behind her. It occurred to her, as she readied herself for bed in her room, that Donald and Goofy had likely heard everything and would want to know what had happened tomorrow morning; that Sora's suspicions would likely return instantly when sleep had all but wiped away most of the bliss of tonight…

But for now, she found herself not caring.

And despite how idiotic she would have once found the gesture, Charisa Nightblaze fell asleep with a tiny secret smile on her lips.

Ah, the OOC at the end. On both parts. Lol, whatever. At least this scene is done.

Now I'm going to go to bed because it's almost midnight where I am and I have to be at work at 8:30 tomorrow morning.

Review please!