Marie and her keyblade:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Marie-and-her-Shooting-Star-Keyblade-38350 2787

A/N:
Fluff, fluff, fluff! And some flashbacks! This chapter kind of really gives you an idea of how Marie is supposed to look like as opposed to my somewhat inaccurate drawings, haha. It also just lets you know what's on Sora's mind. Sorry if it seems like he is a bit OOC…

Chapter Forty-Nine

ଓ

This thing called love

No one uttered a word as they were all concerned, she was white as a ghost when he brought her in, and her chest was covered in blood. Aerith got to work patching her up, and Merlin took the liberty of using his magic to rid the blood from her clothes. Right now, Marie was lying on a bed in Merlin's house and was sleeping, but she was still pale and Sora wondered why she wasn't waking up.

"She lost a lot of blood before and after I took care of the wound," Aerith said as she looked down at Marie. Her chest was covered in bandage, and she knew it would definitely leave a scar. Still, that was better than anything else. "Right now, she just needs some rest."

Sora took a seat next to the sleeping girl and still couldn't believe what she did, but the more he thought about it… he probably wouldn't have been able to jump out of the way or fight back in time. He looked at her, and a frown grew on his face—how could she just be so reckless? Donald and Goofy had been worried ever since they came to Hollow Bastion, and it was a close call that Marie was patched up in time. Donald kept healing as they ran to Merlin's, and he wondered if it helped any, since she just kept bleeding. The door flung open with a loud noise as Ryan ran in the room, and he had a very shocked look on his face.

"What the heck happened!?" he demanded. Yuffie looked over to him, and since the two had been getting close since his decision to stay, she calmed him down. She explained the situation, but it wasn't making Ryan feel any better, and he wanted to stay. "I'm going to stay here until she wakes up, then. She'd do the same for me."

"Actually, I think Sora should just stay," Goofy suggested. Everyone seemed okay with it, but Ryan wasn't too sure.

"I think I should stay, too—"he yelped as Yuffie grabbed his ear and pulled him outside, while Leon cleared his throat. He had been quietly assessing the situation, and walked a bit closer to Sora and Marie.

"Even if she's out cold she was able to find her strength and call out to the Keyblade, and not only that," he said as he pointed to her forehead. "That power you guys saw her use against that fake must have been her powers—powers from Kingdom Hearts."

"Yeah, we saw her forehead glowing with a pink heart, but Yen Sid said she couldn't use her powers," Donald told him. Leon placed a finger on his chin to think on it, but decided to leave it at that, since Marie really needed her rest. Aerith checked on Marie one last time, and walked out the door to Yuffie and Ryan. Cid was also in the room, but didn't really say anything—he wasn't much for sappy stuff, but he really hoped Marie would get better. He walked over to Sora and placed a rough hand on his shoulder as he looked down.

"Take care of her, kid," he said. He bit on his toothpick a bit harder, and Sora just nodded. He walked out, and Leon just walked with him. Sora looked over to Merlin, who was stroking his beard as the whole conservation went on, and the brunette boy asked if he could use his magic to wake Marie.

"Oh no, my boy. My magic doesn't work like that," he said. "She's out of the danger, but anything could happen. She just needs rest."

Everyone was out of the house except for Donald and Goofy, who gave their sympathetic looks at Sora. He seemed so distraught over Marie having pushed him out of the way, but they knew she wasn't doing it to be crazy. She was in love with the boy, and they knew it. She gave her confession to him, but even so Sora couldn't give a reply. Not that he could anyways, what with her bleeding everywhere, but even so he didn't mention that last bit.

"You guys… mind if I be with Marie for a while?" he asked. They both nodded their heads, and told him to take his time. They left with their hopes that Marie would wake soon, and Sora turned over to her. He brought his chair a bit closer, and as he watched, he slammed his fist on the mattress.

"Why'd you have to do something so crazy!?" he shouted. She didn't move at all, and although everyone said she'd be alright, they didn't mention when she would wake up. He didn't think what Aura said would be so literal, but he really feared that he would lose Marie. He also never realized just how much of a fear he had of Marie never waking up, since she had a bad history with sleeping and comas. He needed her to wake up soon, so that it would calm him and that he would see her smile. He bent over a bit and grabbed Marie's hand as he placed it in his, and he caressed it as he looked at it.

"You know, I'm really glad I met you," he started. He looked up from her hand and towards her face, and sighed as he continued. "I like seeing you smile, and it makes me happy when you're laughing and being happy, too. I mean, I never expected any of this, but I'm happy it all happened."

-x-

As Marie looked up to see Aerith, she instead looked at the boy with brown hair and blue eyes. He had a slight frown, only because she did as well. He stopped frowning and gave her a huge smile, one that he did when he first met Donald and Goofy. She stopped frowning and started laughing out loud. After a bout of talking and discussing what they were going to do, they all introduced themselves.

"I'm Sora," the boy said as he smiled at them.

"Donald Duck!" the duck shouted after.

"Name's Goofy!" the dog in green said.

"And I'm Marie!" she smiled at the three of them.

-x-

Even if the first thing she did was frown when they met, she still gave a laugh and smiled. Her big teeth and wide, pouted lips made her smile all the more cheerful, and it really was beautiful. He recalled the times they had together and remembered how her eyes were always so expressive with their doe-eye features, and how those sea-green orbs shined whenever she was at her best. She was also a very light person, in terms of her complexion, and never seemed the type to keep a tan. She really only remained red for a while, and then reverted back to her normal skin tone with those rosy cheeks. It meshed well with her champagne blonde hair though, which was always soft whenever he gave her a hug and touched it, but she always brushed it before heading out.

The best thing about her was her ability to adapt and just be free like the wind, but at the same time know when to be serious. He knew she had her own problems to deal with, but she made it apparent that she couldn't do anything about it yet, and just dealt with things that came up in their current times. She was pretty resourceful and smart, which was great to balance him, Donald and Goofy out, and he liked how they just gave each other a look to understand each other—even when things between them seemed bleak. She also placed a great trust in him, even from last year.

-x-

"When I first met Cid, I felt like I've seen him so many times. And… when we met Riku... I also felt like I've seen him too," Marie said as she looked down. Sora's eyes shot up as he asked her where she saw Riku, and Marie explained. "After Jafar let go of me, I passed out. I remembered meeting Riku, but I don't know where we were. It's like, is any of this for real, or not?"

"I don't know, but I know that what we're going through is real," he told her. He looked down towards the floor before staring back at her, and he took a deep breath. "Marie, would you forget about me?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to," she replied. Her voice was shaking, and Sora comforted her. She was struggling to keep herself from crying, and Sora liked the fact that she was a strong person. She was never faltering and never showed any sighs of true weakness, but knowing the truth about herself was her weakness, and she was showing it. She struggled so much and kept pushing forward strongly, but Sora was quite glad to see her fragile side, if anything, this little moment made their friendship stronger.

"Marie," he softly said. "If you want to cry, you can cry on my shoulder."

She looked at him for a moment and started to whimper. She was tugging his sleeve and soon after dug herself in his shoulder, tightly holding onto him as she cried all her frustration and anger out. It was this moment Sora finally decided that he was going to be by Marie's side. Forever.

-x-

And he was going to be by her side forever, even if they got separated, he would go out and find her. He got up from his seat, and walked towards the window as he looked out. He knew Hollow Bastion was a home to Marie, but her real home was with him and everyone else, and he couldn't wait to get home and just show everything to her. He wanted her to be welcomed, since she hadn't been there for more than a decade. He wondered who her parents were and where she lived, and he wondered how she was when she was younger. Being friends with Riku must have been interesting for Marie, and he just wanted to really know everything about her. He turned from the window and leaned against it while looking at Marie, who was still sound asleep. He wanted her to wake up so he could tell her all this, but he was getting anxious—what if she went into another coma?

ଓ

Kingdom Hearts

Stella and Dante watched as their daughter slept, and they were pretty on edge when they saw the amount of blood dripping from her wound. They both watched as she was being patched up, and when she fell into sleep they gave a somewhat relieved sigh. They wouldn't know what to do if their only daughter didn't survive, and Stella certainly took what Aura said about time.

"Dante…I'm sorry," she said in a low voice, but loud enough for the man to hear. He remained quiet, and just listened to what Stella had to say. "I am a selfish person, and… I know the things I do aren't probably for the best, but I want you to know that I'd do anything for you and Marie. You guys are my family… my whole life."

She stopped talking when he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and placed his head on top of hers. He gave a long sigh, and nuzzled her head with his chin. "I'm also sorry for being out of hand—not everything I said was true, I was just frustrated. You know how much I wanted a normal family, and this type of situation is depressing."

Stella knew it well that Dante wanted a normal life with a family, but being with Stella had consequences. Her mother started it all, from being the first—at least as she knew it as being the first—to enter Kingdom Hearts. Would Marie follow her footsteps? Both Dante and Stella didn't want that, and Stella was not like her mother who had been filled with a strong sense of justice. She just wanted to live normally and that is what she wanted for her daughter as well.

"I don't think we can ever be normal," Stella told him. Dante sighed, and feared that she was right. "This may have been my fate from the start… but I don't want it for Marie."

"I think we should let her know about every—"

"No, now is not the time," Stella interrupted her husband. Marie needed to have a clear mind, and while she was struggling with her memories now was not the time. Stella sighed, she knew once this journey was over she was going to have to tell her. The question was: would Marie set on another journey to help them out of Kingdom Hearts?

ଓ

Sora and Marie

He paced around the room, and took short glances at her. He was hoping she would wake up any moment, but not even a grunt or moan left her lips. It was already half the day, and she was still pale and had no color. She was out longer than usual and he was getting really worried. He walked back down to the chair beside her and watched as she slept; only seeing her chest rise slowly. He bent over and placed his hand in hers as he planted his head softly on her chest. He listened to her heart beat, and watched the necklace he gave her go up and down. He closed his eyes and thought back on the times where he caught Marie looking down and tugging at her necklace, and he was really glad to know how much it meant to her. He used his free hand to hold her arm, and stayed there as he listened to the beating of her heart.

-x-

She gave him a questioning look, and he started to grab something from his pocket. When he grabbed a golden necklace with a small crown attached to it, she figured it was the cause to how weird he was acting.

"This is for you," he said. He handed the necklace over to her, and she took it as she looked at it. It was nicely made, and she thought it was beautiful. She looked at him and asked why he gave it to her, and he scratched his head as he grew a bit bashful. "So you don't forget me. After we seal the Keyblade and find Riku, we'll go back to our worlds."

She looked over to his collarbone and noticed that he had the same necklace, just bigger and silver. She looked at the necklace one more time and placed it around her own neck. She didn't want to depart from Sora—she didn't want to depart from her team. She smiled and gave a soft chuckle as she looked back at Sora.

"Thank you so much, Sora!" she said as she touched the necklace. "It's so pretty. I love it!"

-x-

"Please wake up…," he said aloud. He shook his head a bit and brought the hand he was holding closer to his face. He wasn't at the point of crying, but he really wanted her to wake up. He was never one to be this serious but this girl was at the start with him, and throughout their time together they really grew on each other. He felt disappointed that it took for her to be passed out like this to really realize who he loved, and he got off his chair and kneeled as he changed positions. His head was raised and he brought both his hands as he clasped them with Marie's hand. He brought them to his forehead as he closed his eyes again and whispered for her to wake up, since at this point a grunt would suffice. He stayed quiet for a while, and after a few moments of it, looked up. He let go of Marie's hand, and placed it beside her. He looked out towards the window, and didn't realize how late it had gotten.

Ryan walked through the door, and noticed Sora hunched over and on his knees. He sighed as he lowered his shoulders, and walked up to them. Sora looked up after hearing the shuffling of feet, and greeted Ryan.

"Still not awake, huh?" he asked. Sora shook his head, and Ryan noticed the boy was visibly distraught. He knew it was late, and wondered if Sora wanted to take a break. "You know, we can get Yuffie or Aerith to look after her. You should get some rest."

"I'm not leaving her," he said as he looked back at Marie. "I want to be the first person she sees when she wakes up. I stayed with her that time she collapsed after getting her elbow cut, and I was the first person she saw."

"Man, you must really like her then," Ryan commented. He knew his cousin had a thing for Sora, but he never quite knew if Sora was really serious. This situation spoke more than words to him though, and he was honestly glad Sora was dedicated to Marie. He sighed and patted Sora's shoulder as he looked at Marie. "Just make sure you get some rest. I'm sure Marie doesn't want to see you snoring away when she wakes up."

Sora nodded, but didn't quite feel like laughing at his joke. Ryan left the house to inform the rest about Sora's arrangement, and the boy in question looked back at Marie. He didn't want to be sleeping when Marie woke up, since he really wanted her to see him first when she did. He got up from his chair, and got on the bed as quietly as he could. Once he was on the left side of the bed, he moved Marie so she was lying on her right side. He got comfortable on the bed that he was now lying in, and brought Marie closer towards him. He wrapped his left arm under her neck, and the other over her shoulder so that he could hug her, and he held her tightly in his arms. He lowered his head a bit and lightly kissed her forehead as his eyelids grew heavy, and then brought her a bit lower so his head rested on top of hers.

"I'll be the first person you see when you wake up," he whispered. He was getting sleepy all of a sudden, and closed his eyes. "And I promise I'll be the first because…"

"I love you."

Oh goodness, so much fluff. Was Sora OOC? Sorry if he was ;-; We're not done with the fluff yet, by the way. I still have some left for the next chapter, and the reason why this chapter took so long was because I'm so out of tune with my romantic side that I was like 'derp. How do I romance?'

Shadow 1n2:
Haha, and I'm glad that she is! I was starting to forget about her. Oh god, that moment will be very hard to write without getting the feels—more so for Aura since she's closer to him than Marie at the moment. ;-; LOL well yea, that's how we do it nowadays—tell someone you love them as they be bleeding.

Lvl-ZeR0:
Thanks! I wanted to show Aura's more sadistic side since she pretty much likes to attack anything. Fakey will be missed, I'm sure, but I must make room for other people and some new characters o:

Anon:
Sorry! I don't think I'm using it anymore. (I used a few things in these chapters, so I'm not sure) Hope I've stopped it. (If you're still reading!)

Dracula X:
Haha, yeah well I gotta add it some plot twists in there somewhere. :D there are a few more coming your way, but more near the ending. O:

Grapejuice101:
Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed her going away party! Sora/Marie moments from now on I swear!

WingOfHope:
If I didn't write it I'm sorry but yeah, she's had her hood up the entire time. She was kind of scared Sora would know everything about her since Roxas merged with him and all.

Guest:
Next part right here! I'm glad you're reading, and I love you, two! :hearts: