Work Text:
Always
Sora blinked his eyes open to see his bedroom, a bright ray of sunlight running through the middle of the floor from where the curtains met. Grunting, he turned over and closed his eyes as he sunk his head down into the pillow again to go back to sleep.
‘Wait… my room?’
The realization clicked and his eyes shot open. As he gazed upon the ship hanging from the ceiling and other odds and ends collected around the room, he knew it had to be his.
“When did I get home?” He sat up and held his head, trying to remember what had happened last.
He had been in Quadratum for some time, but he had eventually met up with Riku and later the rest of their friends. Sora wasn’t used to being the one who had to be saved, but it took everyone’s strength and willpower to bring him back to their reality and the realm of light.
Kairi.
He remembered Kairi comforting him, talking to him softly but he couldn’t remember what she said.
He also remembered being at Yen Sid’s tower and something being mentioned about him needing rest. After that, nothing. Except for waking up here.
He shot upward and immediately felt the muscle aches all over his body as well as a multitude of bruises forming under his skin. Curative spells were amazing, but there was only so much they could do. He sucked in a breath before putting his feet to the floor and forcing himself to stand up despite the pain.
He clung to the banister of the stairs as he made his way down the stairs, but he wasn’t even halfway down before his mom appeared at the foot of them.
“Sora! I’m really glad you’re awake, but do you really think you should be out of bed?” She reached out a hand and took a few steps upward.
“I’m just a little sore, it’s fine.” He waved her off before giving a wide grin, “It’s good to see you, Mom.”
She shook her head but just stared at him with watering eyes as he continued to make his way down the stairs. Once he had reached her, she enveloped him in a tight hug, “I can’t believe how grown up you are.”
“Yeah, me neither.” He answered in a laugh.
“I’ve missed you so much.”
He hugged her tighter, “Me too.”
Hesitantly letting him go, she waved towards the living room, “Let’s go sit down.”
Sora nodded and followed after her, “Okay.” While she took the couch, he took the worn-out arm chair as he always had.
“Kairi filled me on somewhat of all you’ve been through over the past few years. I can’t even begin to imagine…”
“Speaking of Kairi, is she still here?” He asked automatically. After a beat and his cheeks starting to warm, he added, “Or Riku, or anyone else?”
Giving a confused look to his question at first, she realized what he meant and answered, “Oh, you mean on the islands. Yes, Kairi is still here. I believe Riku is still with the others that Kairi mentioned, though I’m not sure where they are.”
He let out a breath and nodded, “Ah, okay.”
His mom looked at him knowingly and smirked, commenting, “Still got it bad for Kairi after all these years, huh?”
Though he made a yelping noise in response to her blunt questioning, he looked away and answered, “Is that surprising?”
“Not at all. And the way she talked about you seemed to be quite different too, so I figured something must have happened. Are you finally dating?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Well, no, not really…” He answered honestly, “It’s hard to really ‘date’ with the life we’ve had.”
“Oh,” She parted her lips and let out a disappointed sigh, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
“But,” He started again and she looked back up, intrigued, “Do you remember when we came back to the islands before a big fight before?”
She nodded, “Of course. I was so happy to see you then, too.”
“Well, we shared a paopu fruit when we went out to the play island to watch the sunset like we did as kids. Kairi’s idea, of course.” He flushed again, quickly adding, “N-not that I didn’t want to!”
His mom laughed loudly, “Of course.”
“But it was perfect. I think the paopu helped bring us together again despite the almost impossible odds, just like the legend says.” He gave another soft grin.
“Maybe it did help, but I think a lot of it was just… you two just being who you are, you know?” She gave her own smile in return. Sora didn’t really have the chance to respond before she changed the subject, “So, I suppose you asked about Kairi because you want to go see her, right?”
His face quickly reddening again, he admitted, “Well, yeah. But—”
“You can go.” His mom waved towards the front door, “Just be back before dinner.”
He stared breathlessly for a moment before smiling, “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.” She answered as he got up from the chair and slowly made his way to the door.
Once he was outside and off the porch steps, he reached into his pocket for his gummi phone. Unsurprisingly, he had several messages from various people asking for him to call once he had woken up and was feeling better. ‘Well, I still kinda feel awful, honestly.’ He thought to himself, both as a truth and as an excuse to wait to call them later.
He moved to Kairi’s name and hit dial. After a few chirps, he heard her voice ring out through the speaker, “Sora?”
“Kairi!” He answered, grinning widely.
She gave a small laugh, “So you’re finally awake, lazy bum.”
“Yeah. Can’t say the same about my arms and legs, though. They kinda feel like jelly.” He tried to stretch his free arm again and found much of the same feeling as he had when he woken up earlier.
“I’m not surprised, I’m pretty sore too.”
“So… where are you? You’re still on the islands, right?” He bit his lip, hoping he hadn’t missed her.
“Of course. Riku wanted to stay too, but I guess there were some last-minute things King Mickey wanted his help with. Oh, and I’m at my house but I’ll come to yours. You really shouldn’t be pushing yourself so soon.”
He rolled his eyes, “I’m not that out of it. How about we meet halfway? Like around the park, I guess.”
Kairi hummed, “Okay, if you say so.”
“Great. See you soon.” He tapped the red button to end the call and set out on his way.
Pushing himself beyond his limits was nothing new with all of the things he had done on his adventures in the past few years, but he was still bent over in pain by the time he made it to the park.
“I would laugh because I knew you would do this, but you look awful.” Kairi commented as she approached him.
Straightening out and standing up straight, he smiled apologetically, “Yeah, you were right.”
“What a surprise.” She lightly grabbed his hand and tugged him towards a picnic table, “Let’s sit down.”
“Thank you.” He let out, unable to hold it in any longer as he sat down and faced her.
She blinked, “For what?”
“For everything.” He answered automatically. After a moment, he clarified, “For saving me.”
Kairi smiled and shook her head, “It’s like I told you years ago. I couldn’t just let you stay that way and forget about you. That’s the same reason you came after me, right?”
“To be honest, I didn’t really think about it. I just acted. But yeah, I guess that’s the best way to put it.” He admitted with a small laugh.
“That’s such a Sora thing to say.” She reached over to intertwine her hand with his.
He quirked an eyebrow, “I hope that’s a compliment.”
“Of course.” She smiled brightly as she nodded.
“So what’s going on with everyone else?” Sora shifted the topic of conversation, curious, “I know you said Riku stayed behind to do a few last-minute things but honestly my memory is kinda fuzzy about what all happened right before coming home.”
Kairi’s expression dampened somewhat, but she still kept a smile, “Just making sure everything is the way it’s supposed to be. And then we’re supposed to be able to take a break for a little while. Just hang out here on the islands; you, me, and Riku.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “That sounds nice.”
“I’m sure. You’ve been through a lot.”
He opened his eyes and looked at her seriously, answering, “So have you, you know.”
Quietly, she nodded and held his hand a little tighter.
And suddenly, he knew what he had to do.
“Kairi.” He called her name and she looked up curiously.
“Yes?”
“This isn’t really how I ever imagined doing it, but I think this feels right.” He slipped down from the bench and knelt on one knee, with Kairi quickly clasping her hands over her mouth in surprise. “I don’t even know how old I was when I started dreaming about wanting to spend my life with you. And for a long time, it always seemed out of reach; both because I didn’t know how you feel and because of all of the things we’ve been through. But I want to make it real now. No matter what happens next, I want to be by your side, always.”
Kairi nodded vigorously, tears starting to overflow from the corners of her eyes, “That’s what I want too.”
Sora reached out and motioned for her hand, only to pull it towards him and kiss her knuckles. “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring yet. But like I said before, this wasn’t exactly planned so…” They both shared a quick laugh before he smiled widely and asked, “Kairi, will you marry me?”
“Yes.” She slid closer to him and pressed a kiss against him eagerly, “Yes, yes, yes.”
He cupped both sides of her face and grinned against her, “So… when do we let everyone else know?”
“Maybe keep it a secret for a few days or else everyone’s hugs may crush what little solid bones you have left in your body right now.” She gave a gentle squeeze of his arm which he had to admit hurt much more than he expected.
“Ow.” He rubbed the spot she had squeezed, “But that’s a very solid point.”
“Do you need me to carry you back to your house?” Kairi teased with a tilt of her head.
He shook his head, “I dunno, I think it’s poor form to have your new fiancée carry you.”
“Fiancée, huh.” She beamed, humming, “I think I like the sound of that.”
“So do I.” He kissed her again.