This story now updates on Archive of Our Own only.

My username and the story title are the same over there. The story is NOT locked to users only so can be viewed without needing an AO3 account. There are more chapters posted there already as well.

Sorry to anyone who is disappointed by this :( but posting here has become quite draining (variety of reasons) and I hope that if you have been enjoying this story you'll check it out over there!

Riku returned to the tower the following morning. When he pushed the door open he found not just Kairi, but Sora as well, sitting up on the edge of the bed. His arm was in a sling, his necklace back on, and his feet were on the ground for the first time in over a week. They turned when he came in and Sora beamed.

"Riku! You're back!" He sounded so thrilled it was as if Riku had been gone for weeks. He sat down on his other side, and Sora threw his good arm around his shoulders. "I missed you!"

"I've only been gone a day Sora." He smiled though and returned the hug.

"Yeah I know, but I was away from you for so long... I'm just really happy every time I see you."

He grinned up at him and Riku went slightly pink. He was thankful Sora was smiling so widely that his eyes were closed and he didn't see it. Kairi did though and giggled. He tried to distract Sora while his face was still flushed. "I'd almost forgotten you had legs," he said, pointing at them.

"Me too!" He grinned down and wiggled his feet. "I'm sick of lying in bed, I'm ready to get up and move around today."

"You still haven't asked Baymax though, you shouldn't try yet," Kairi told him. She looked worried. When Sora had first sat up that morning and tried to move his legs out of the bed he'd been so dizzy he'd almost fallen out of it. Though he seemed to be full of energy right now she knew it was mostly just the excitement of Riku being back. He'd already been awake for an hour, she was sure he'd go back to feeling exhausted soon.

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with my legs!"

"It's not your legs I'm worried about..."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Riku can you help me get up?"

"I'm with Kairi on this sorry, talk to Baymax first."

"Aw come on!" He grinned hopefully at Riku, who had to suppress the urge to laugh. It was nice to see him so enthusiastic and eager about something again, even if he did have to squash it.

He smiled but shook his head. "Sorry Sora, I will if Baymax says it's OK though."

Sora hung his head and pouted grumpily. "Ugh, fine..."

"Of course, he listens to you." Kairi rolled her eyes at Riku. "He was waiting for you to get back and tell me to stop worrying." She stood up. "Now you have to ask Baymax!"

"Yeah, alright..." Sora had been trying to avoid asking, expecting Baymax would tell him to stay in bed. As she left the room to fetch the robot he leaned his head against Riku's shoulder, still looking grumpy, and Riku put his arm back around him.

"Don't rush it ok? You're getting better, but if you push yourself it will just take longer."

"I'm sick of just being stuck in bed though, and of you guys having to sit around all day with nothing to do."

"Don't worry about us. Sitting around with you all day is the only thing we want to do right now."

"Really?"

"Of course you idiot." He put a hand on top of Sora's head and ruffled his hair teasingly.

"Hey!" He pushed Riku's hand off but grinned despite the quip.

Kairi returned with Baymax. Sora still didn't particularly want to ask him yet, so let Baymax examine him normally first. The gash on his head had apparently healed enough for Baymax to remove the bandages. Once they were gone and Baymax stepped away, Riku's eyes suddenly widened in shock and Kairi gasped and put her hands to her mouth, as they both stared at the spot the bandages had been covering.

"What? What is it?"

Sora glanced anxiously from one to the other. Was the cut really that bad? Had he torn his whole head apart? Was it bleeding everywhere or the wrong colour or something? They just stood there, staring. Kairi's shoulders started shaking as he became more frantic.

"What's wrong?!"

She couldn't hold it in anymore. Kairi burst out laughing, and Riku joined her. Now Sora was really confused.

He reached up to touch the spot where the cut was. He carefully ran his hand along the side of it, feeling the stitches still there. It started at his forehead and extended several centimetres back, almost going halfway to the back of his head. He ran his fingers back towards his forehead again and then froze. He could feel the cut and plenty of skin around it. What he couldn't feel though, was his hair.

"Sorry Sora but... well, just look."

Holding back tears of laughter, Kairi took out her phone and took a photo of the side of his head. He snatched the phone from her and stared in horror at the massive bald stripe down the side of his head. It would have stood out more starkly if his skin weren't still dark from bruises, but it was extremely obvious.

"My hair!" He anxiously poked at it, as though he could make it grow back just by prodding it. All he received in return was a sharp twinge from the bruises. "What happened to my hair?!"

"We had to shave that part of your scalp in order to treat the injury. The hair around the cut will grow back normally in time."

Sora's eyes were wide and he stared at Baymax warily.

"What do you mean around it?"

"The cut will leave a scar, the hair in that area is, therefore, unlikely to grow back."

He gaped at him, unable to form words.

Riku and Kairi finally managed to stifle their laughter. "Sora chill out, have you never seen your hair before?" Riku said.

Kairi sat back down on the bed and put a comforting arm around him. "Once the rest of it grows back no one will see it through that mess!"

Sora didn't seem to hear them though. He was too busy staring at the photo, and desperately trying to flatten his hair over the bald patch.

It took Sora a good 15 minutes to calm down from this terrible discovery. Riku and Kairi had never realised he cared so much about his hair before, considering how all over the place it was. For better or worse, it had completely distracted him from his plan of asking Baymax if he could try getting out of bed. Instead, Riku drew a chair up to tell them about what he had discussed with the others in Radiant Garden.

He told them about their discovery that so many different people had experienced this strange pain in their hearts at exactly the same time as when Kairi created the shield.

"Xion thinks maybe you managed to connect with people's hearts somehow, through Sora. You wanted to protect him so much that you somehow reached out to other people who would have wanted to help him too, and maybe channelled their... energy? Or their hearts? Something at least, and use that."

"Well, I was trying to protect you too!" She stuck her tongue out at him briefly then she frowned, thinking. "Right before it happened I was thinking about everyone else as well... I was thinking about the day when everyone was on the island together, the same day you disappeared Sora." She glanced round at him. "It was the last time we were all together."

Sora wasn't really sure how to react. He just stared back at her uncomfortably, not wanting to think too much about what the rest of that day might have been like for them. She looked back at Riku. "How could I have done that though? I've managed to contact Sora's heart before, but to be able to follow connections from there..."

"Well, if anyone has connections strong enough for other people to follow, it's this guy." He nudged Sora's leg with his boot, giving him a smile. Sora gave him an awkward one in return and scratched the back of his head.

It didn't really make sense, but the more they talked about this the more his stomach seemed to clench, and the more uncomfortable he felt. He didn't like the idea that everyone had needed to give some of their own strength to save him then. His friends had always lent him their power before, but not like that. He didn't feel like he had deserved it at that moment either, not after he had given up, not when it was his fault he had needed saving. It had saved Riku and Kairi as well though, and for that, he was infinitely grateful.

"And you are a Princess of Heart, don't forget that," Riku said and Kairi nodded. "I'm sure that's part of it." He looked back at Sora, who was staring down at the floor, one hand still on the back of his head. "You OK Sora?"

"Huh?" He jerked his head up, having been lost in thought. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I guess this is all just a little overwhelming." Kairi put an arm around his waist. He turned and smiled at her. "Whatever happened, I'm just glad you're both OK."

He turned back to Riku. "So... how are they all doing? Everyone you went to see?" He badly wanted to change the subject, and Riku let him.

He didn't hear much about it though. Riku managed to talk for less than five minutes before he heard Kairi give a small sound of surprise, then giggle. He'd been scrolling through the pictures on his phone, trying to find one of Naminé in her new home, and now looked up to find Sora's head had flopped sideways, and he was dozing on Kairi's shoulder. He grinned.

"Guess that means it's time to stop talking," he said quietly.

"Yeah." Kairi leant over and kissed the top of Sora's head, causing him to smile and mumble contentedly in his light sleep. Riku wondered if they'd taken the chance to talk to each other last night after he left them alone. He gave Sora's shoulder a small shake to rouse him, just enough so that they could take off his sling and lie down properly in bed.

Once Sora was sleeping again Kairi's demeanour shifted. She seemed suddenly serious and stressed.

"Do you feel like doing some training or going for a walk?" She asked Riku. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yeah sure." Judging from her expression, it wasn't something happy she wanted to talk about or something she wanted to discuss in front of Sora...

For a horrible moment, he had wondered if it was Sora and her Kairi wanted to talk about, or worse still, the way Riku had been acting towards him. After she told him about the night before though he thought he might have preferred those conversations.

She didn't tell him everything Sora had said, thinking it would be better for him to hear it from Sora, and not wanting to tell him anything Sora might not want him to know. She was too worried to say nothing though, not to mention upset and in need of a friend to talk to herself.

What she did tell him was that Sora had been pushed far enough to give up hope completely while he was trapped. She told him that Sora had gone into that fight willingly, despite knowing he was going to die if he did. He had stopped caring for his own life. She suspected that was the kind of feeling that left a mark, even if he didn't feel like that now.

It was good they had left the Tower to talk Riku thought. If they'd been there he might not have been able to stop himself from running back into the room, shaking Sora awake, and screaming at him. He wanted to shout at him for ever thinking his life wasn't worth fighting for, for not caring about himself. He wanted to yell at him, even though he didn't blame him at all for feeling the way he had. He hated that Sora could have thought or felt something so terrible, and he hated that he could understand exactly why he had felt that way, considering all he had been through.

It's Sora! He'll bounce back! He'll be fine! He thought about what Leon and Yuffie had said again and his blood boiled.

They stayed in the training world for several more hours, Riku needing that time to calm down, and both needing to let out their feelings on the faux Heartless for a while.

Sora was awake and sitting up on the edge of the bed again when they finally returned. His arm was back in its sling and he was hunched over his Gummi phone, chatting happily with Donald and Goofy. He'd thought he probably owed them a call by now, seeing as how they hadn't been able to come back to see him, and he'd been missing them. Before actually calling them he'd spent quite a while flattening his hair down as much as possible, not keen to be laughed at and teased again quite so soon...

"Hey you're back!" He turned as they came in and beamed. Riku's chest clenched a little. He looked so happy right now, it was hard to think that what Kairi had just told him was true. He turned back to his phone. "I better go, I'll see you guys in a few days hopefully." They'd been chatting since Sora woke up almost half an hour ago, but they were still disappointed to say goodbye already.

"You better tell Baymax to let us come see you!" Donald ordered him.

"Right!" Sora nodded and said goodbye, then turned excitedly to the others. "Baymax said it's fine for me to try getting out of bed!"

"Really?" Kairi was taken by surprise.

"Yeah! He said once you were back it would be OK." As Sora spoke Baymax himself came into the room behind them, having heard them return.

"Are... are you sure it's safe?" Kairi looked from Sora to Baymax. If Baymax said it was then it must be, but she was still worried.

"Yes, Sora has regained enough strength, and it may even be beneficial. However," he turned back to Sora, "you will need support and to move slowly, it is likely you will experience vertigo and may fall without assistance."

Kairi didn't like the sound of that...

"Alright, I'll be careful." He turned to Riku, still beaming. "Can you help me?"

He looked so excited again that Riku couldn't help but cheer up a little. He grinned, "sure." He sat down beside him, and, with an arm under both of Sora's, and Sora holding on to his shoulder, he helped him slowly to his feet. Immediately Sora started swaying and gripped Riku's shoulder a little tighter. "You OK?"

"Y-yeah, just dizzy. Give me a sec." He closed his eyes briefly and waited for it to pass. When he opened them again he looked up at Riku and gave him a nod. Riku started easing off so Sora could try and hold up his own weight. His knees trembled slightly and he kept his hand on Riku's shoulder, but they soon stopped, and the dizziness didn't come back. Riku let go of him, keeping his arm close just in case, and Sora stayed standing.

After a few seconds, he and Riku looked back at each other, and both let out a small laugh of joy. Sora immediately winced at the pain in his ribs and Riku grabbed him, but he shook his head and kept grinning. "It's OK, I'm good," and Riku let go of him again.

Now that he was standing Kairi noticed for the first time that he'd grown. She shouldn't have been surprised, it had been a whole year after all, and she and Riku had both grown too, but it still struck her. He was taller, though still a full head shorter than Riku. She was grinning broadly now, but her eyes were stinging as well. Seeing him standing up again, alive and no longer bed-bound, was overwhelming.

The boys turned to see her reaction as well and were shocked to see she was on the verge of tears. "What's wrong Kairi!?" Sora cried.

"I... It's just..." Her voice shook as she tried to answer. "I didn't know if we were ever going to see you again, and then you were hurt so badly and- and now your standing here again and..." The tears had started flowing, but she beamed at him. "I'm just so happy you're here!"

Sora let go of Riku's shoulder and took a careful step toward her. She rushed forward to close the gap and he wrapped his good arm around her and hugged her, pulling her in close as her shoulders shook. She wanted to hold on to him tightly but was scared of hurting him, so she just wrapped her arms loosely around his back, and buried her face in his neck. "I was so scared we were going to lose you," she sobbed. "I was so scared Sora."

"It's OK, I'm OK now, I promise I'm not going anywhere." He rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

Riku smiled as Kairi hugged him. He knew how she felt. The intense combination of terror at what could have been, and euphoria at what was. He expected the night they'd found Sora would haunt Kairi and him for a long time. Sora probably had no idea just what a miracle it was that he was still alive, or how incredible it was for them to see him standing here, no longer on the verge of death.

Sora's reassurances gradually calmed her. When he drew back he smiled at her, "I'm not going anywhere Kairi, I promise." She looked back with swollen red eyes and nodded. His legs were feeling tired already though. "Would it, umm... be alright if we sat down though?" He asked, slightly abashed.

"Oh right! Sorry!" She hadn't noticed his legs had started shaking again. She made to put her arm around his waist to help him but he shifted away.

"No I'm OK, I think I can do it," he said, determined to do as much as he could by himself. She nodded but stayed close so he could keep a hand on her shoulder for balance.

They and Riku sat down at the table together, Sora holding on to Kairi's shoulder tightly as he lowered himself into the chair. A thin layer of sweat had appeared on his brow, but other than that he seemed completely fine. It seemed like a dumb thing to be proud of, standing and managing to walk a few steps, but he still felt great about it. He couldn't stop grinning. Kairi was still feeling a little overwhelmed, and Sora held her hand while they sat together.

"Hey Baymax, I never asked, how come you're here?" Sora asked, realising he hadn't actually spoken to his friend about anything other than broken bones and concussions since he woke up to find him taking care of him.

Baymax explained how Donald and Goofy had come to ask for his assistance, and the conversation eventually turned to him and Sora telling the others about how they met. They regaled them with stories of Big Hero 6 and Darkubes, the Heartless controlled Microbots. Riku groaned at the mention of the Dark version of his replica, very glad that was in the past. Catching up with Baymax about his friends in San Fransokyo only added to Sora's good mood. Sitting together and talking happily was enough to make Sora forget all his troubles, even if just for a little while

After an hour or so Kairi suggested Sora try out the Command Board game with them and she and Riku began setting it up. Baymax however had noticed Sora's increased heart rate and occasional wincing. "Sora you appear to be running out of energy, I recommend you return to bed now."

"Yeah I guess," he sighed. He was disappointed, but also knew Baymax was right. He was in quite a lot of pain at this point and was far too mentally tired from talking to attempt the game anyway.

"Alright, please let me know if you need me," Baymax said, and turned to leave.

Riku and Kairi continued setting up the game, not having not heard the others as they talked, while Sora pushed himself up out of his seat. He made it a few steps towards the bed before he realised something was wrong. He was sweating, suddenly feeling far too hot. He felt lightheaded, and his brain seemed to be filling with cotton wool. He tried to turn back towards his chair, knowing he was going to fall if he didn't sit down quickly, but he couldn't get his bearings. As his blood pressure plummeted the room started to spin.

"Riku..."

Riku looked up from the other side of the table and saw him swaying. "Sora!"

Sora's vision was swimming and he felt himself begin to fall. Riku disappeared in a flash of purple sparks that flew across the room and over the table, reforming at Sora's side. Before everything went dark, Sora felt someone catch him beneath his arms.

Kairi ran around the table after Riku, and the two of them jerked their heads around and stared at Baymax in the doorway, looking scared. "Please lie Sora down flat Riku," he instructed as he walked back into the room. "Then he should regain consciousness soon."

Riku carefully lowered Sora down to the floor and put a hand on the side of his face. He was drenched in a cold sweat and breathing fast. Kairi dropped down beside Riku. Sora's eyes were still slightly open, a small strip of white showing between the lids. "Sora? Sora!" When he didn't react to her Kairi turned back to Baymax, panicking.

"Please remain calm, Sora has only fainted. He will regain consciousness soon," he repeated.

He was right, and to their great relief, Sora began stirring just a few seconds later. He opened his eyes properly and blinked, trying to clear his vision, and saw two frantic faces hovering over him.

"Sora! Are you-"

Before Kairi finished her question he pushed her roughly out of the way and lurched forward onto his knees. He clapped a hand to his mouth and started retching. Realising what was about to happen Riku took hold of his shoulders and Kairi sprinted out of the room. She grabbed a rubbish bin from beside Yen Sid's desk and got back just in time to place it in front of Sora, as he vomited.

"Please do not be alarmed. Nausea after fainting is not abnormal," Baymax reassured them as Kairi turned to him anxiously again.

Riku rubbed Sora's back as he heaved, wishing there was more he could do for him. When it was over Sora groaned and slumped sideways against Riku, no longer able to sit up on his own. His head was pounding even harder than before, and he clutched it in his hand.

"I'll get some water." Kairi stood up and ran out of the room again.

"Please allow me to take care of that," Baymax said, picking up the bin.

Sora was panting and shivering, his skin completely white and ribs on fire again. Riku kept rubbing his back and supporting him, worried he might pass out again. He reached up to stroke his cheek, but caught himself just in time and quickly put his hand back down, placing it on Sora's knee instead.

"The symptoms will become less intense soon, though you will likely feel unwell for several hours. Once you are able to I recommend you go to bed and sleep." Sora didn't respond, too busy focussing on not throwing up again.

"Thanks Baymax," Riku replied instead. "I think we can take care of him from here." He got the feeling Sora wouldn't want to be fussed over by more people than necessary.

"All right, please let me know if I can be of assistance," he replied and left.

Kairi almost collided with him as she ran back into the room with a glass and jug of water. She knelt down with the boys and held out the glass to Sora. "Here, this should help." He lowered his hand from his face and reached out to take it, then groaned as the light hit his eyes and covered them with his hand again as his head throbbed nauseatingly. Kairi put the glass down and put a hand on his shoulder.

The three of them sat in sad silence for five minutes or so, waiting for Sora's nausea and the worst of his headache to pass. When he eventually lowered his hand and opened his eyes Kairi offered him the glass again. He took it gratefully and drank, glad to wash the taste of sick out of his mouth.

"Thanks..." He took another gulp before handing it back to her, worried he might drop it. "I really thought I was going to be fine... Guess you were right though Kairi."

"No! You were right. You were doing fine, you probably just stood up a little too fast that time!" He sounded so dejected though. She didn't know if there was anything she could say right now to make him feel better.

"Thanks for catching me," he said to Riku, glad he'd managed to call out for him before he lost consciousness. "Hope I didn't get any puke on you..."

"Nah you didn't, luckily you have terrible aim." He was pleased when Sora made a small sound of amusement. "Ready to stand up yet?"

"Give me... a few more minutes." Even with help, he thought if he stood up right now he'd definitely be sick again.

"Sure," Riku gave his knee a squeeze.

Sora's head throbbed again and he rubbed his forehead briefly. When he lowered his hand he placed it on top of Riku's, gripping it weakly every time a wave of nausea hit him. Another five minutes passed quietly before he spoke again. "I think I'm OK now."

"Alright, let's get you back to bed then."

He nodded and let Riku pull him carefully to his feet, keeping his eyes closed to try and lessen the dizziness. As Riku helped him lie back down Kairi poured some more water for him and left it on the bedside table, then perched at the end of the bed. Sora had stopped shaking now and gone from completely white back to just pale, but he looked ill and drained. Riku sat down beside the bed and resisted the urge to take his hand again.

To his surprise though, Sora moved his own over towards him. When he didn't find Riku's hand on the bed he turned as if looking for something, though he could only seem to keep his eyes half open. Despite his worries, Riku reached out and took his hand, and Sora gave a tired smile.

He turned to Kairi sitting at the end of the bed. "Sorry for pushing you, I didn't puke on you either did I?"

She laughed. "No, you missed me as well."

"Phew..."

"You should go to sleep," Riku said. "The more you get the more likely it is you'll feel better tomorrow."

He turned back to Riku, looking groggy. "You're not leaving again tonight... are you?" he mumbled, half asleep already and barely aware of what he was saying.

Riku smiled. "No, I'll be here."

"That's good..."

As he drifted off, Kairi got up carefully from the bed and snuck away to the couch without them noticing, feeling distinctly like a third wheel. Riku stayed sitting there for a long time after Sora fell asleep, his thoughts a confusing mix of affection, cautious hope, and doubt.

As night fell Riku came out of his trance. He realised he'd been sitting there far too long and looked awkwardly around for Kairi. She'd fallen asleep on the couch, cuddled up under a blanket with a book beside her instead of her phone for a change. He let go of Sora's hand and left, thinking it was time to start making use of the extra bedrooms again.

As he sat on the edge of the bed in his temporary room he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then smacked himself hard in the forehead.

"Snap out of it..."

He had to stop doing this.

He'd accepted a long time ago that Sora and Kairi were meant for each other, he'd known that long before he started feeling this way. He used to tease Sora for it. Even after he got over his own childhood crush on Kairi he would still act competitively to try and egg Sora on. Hell, he had wanted them to get together before he realised how he felt.

It wasn't just himself he would hurt if he kept letting his feelings bubble up like this, he didn't want Kairi realising and feeling hurt or betrayed. Or even worse, Sora realising and their friendship becoming suddenly very... awkward. They were his best friends. He couldn't risk that.

But then again... Sora wasn't moving away from him when he put his arm around him, or shrugging him off whenever he left a hand on his shoulder a little too long. If anything, he was reaching out for him just as much, leaning into every hug, returning the pressure every time they somehow ended up holding hands.

And things did seem different between Sora and Kairi at the moment. Kairi had changed a lot over the past few years. She'd seemed somehow different since she woke up after her heart had been searched, and to have grown so much while she trained with Aqua.

And she and Sora still didn't seem to have... No.

He gave his head a shake. He was overthinking this. Sora had been alone for so long of course he was holding on to them both so tightly. He'd only been awake a few days as well, he couldn't make any judgements based on how Sora was acting when he was still getting used to Kairi's presence again. He needed to keep trying to give them space. He hoped that whatever happened in the times he was gone meant the two of them would be happy. Seeing them both happy would be enough for him.