Chapter Text
Everyone who knew Sora knew of his pure, unadulterated joy. Out of everyone on the islands, they all said that Sora had the biggest heart. Each interaction sparking happiness and friendship, whether they were already his friend or even a complete stranger, he practically made it his goal to befriend every living thing.
And, of course, Sora's heart knew the feeling of many things: joy, friendship, warmth, fear, determination.
And pain.
Sora and Riku had never seen such a spectacular sight: streaks of light illuminating the night sky. Riku gazed up, wide-eyed and amazed, taking in all the sights with wonder and awe.
Sora stared up at the same sky with the same enthusiasm, both the boys enamoured with the sights, and yet, he seemed to see something behind the stars. His stare was unfocused, hazy. It was like he wasn't even there.
Before Riku could even ask, Sora spoke with a tremor in his voice.
"They're in pain."
"What?" Riku asked, averting his eyes to look at his best friend, shaking on the spot, eyes filled with tears on the verge of falling.
"Someone out there... they're in so much pain." He finally turned away from the array of shooting stars to look at Riku, and the fear and sadness was almost palpable.
This was Sora, his best friend! He had rarely ever seen him upset, and never to this extent.
He was always a terrible liar, especially when his mother asked him who had eaten the last sweet in the cupboard and Sora replied that he didn't have a clue, with the remnants of the delectable treat still scattered around his mouth. And yet, even in a pitiful situation, he always had a way about him to make everyone smile, practically never getting into trouble with that cute charm he had that made it impossible to be mad at him.
Which made all the times he saw his incredibly cheerful friend despaired and distressed all the more worrisome. And he definitely couldn't lie about it.
"Sora, hey, it's alright." He reached out to his hand, offering comfort and keeping him grounded. "Maybe... maybe if you listen to them, you can help them."
A small inquisitive noise escaped Sora as Riku slowly sat down with him on the dampened sand, the tides inching their way across the land in the dead of night.
Despite their natural reactions not to lay down on wet sand (much to their parents' later dismay), it crunched beneath them as they set their heads on it, once more redirecting their perspectives to the night sky.
Riku took a slow, deep breath of the salty air, prompting Sora to copy him and close his eyes.
And he listened. He listened to the plight of the stars and all that lay beyond them. The pain, the sorrow, the anger, the regret.
From the inky, pitch black void grew a brilliant, blinding light, soon calming into a shining beacon of stained glass.
"Hello?" He called out into the darkness, hoping for an answer.
He didn't expect one to come from so close. "Who's there?"
The voice was afraid, pained, and alone. Of course Sora would make it his job to befriend everyone, no matter what.
"Are you alright? Why are you sad?" He turned around, trying to look for the source of the other voice, settling for it coming from the glistening orb of light in front of him.
"Oh... Some very bad things happened to me, and I... I'm broken. And lost."
The sullen voice chose not to go into details, but that didn't matter to Sora. "I can help! Stay here! It's safe!"
"W-What? You don't even know me, and you're trying to help?"
"Of course! You're my friend now!"
The disembodied voice laughed in disbelief. "I... I don't know what to say. How can you be so sure?"
At this, Sora tilted his head in thought. "Hmm... You were in a lot of pain, and I can feel it, and I don't want you to be in pain. You're my friend, so I want to help my friends!"
It seemed as though nothing the voice said would discourage Sora from achieving his goal. The light approached closer, and closer, until it was practically merged with the stained glass, free to rest and recover.
As it returned to Sora's own Heart Station, there was a slight... difference.
In return for a safe resting place and a place to heal, Sora would share the burden of his pain. Literally.
From the edges, small cracks could be seen to be slowly creeping in. He felt a small twang in his heart, like something was slowly dragging it down, but that wouldn't stop him from helping his friend. Of course, he grew wary of it, but he didn’t have time to notice anything else before the wave of pain hit him.
Grasping at his chest, the cracks deepened slightly and the weight grew, and grew, until he could barely stand.
The light began to fade from the edges of his eyes and the darkness once more returned to its rightful place.
As he opened his eyes, squinting at the harsh lights above, the stars above remained in their opulent beauty, shooting across the vast sky.
Besides him was Riku, still holding his hand tightly, staring at his best friend tentatively.
A small smile assuaged his doubts, with no further words spoken other than a nod as they both remained on the ground, hands intertwined, and once more looking at the meteor shower together.
What Riku didn't see was the sole tear that fell down Sora's face, trailing into the sand.
The pain stayed there. And it ached.