Work Text:
The Gummi Ship sputtered and groaned as it powered down. Another safe landing. A glance out the windows revealed the Mysterious Tower poking out between the smoky clouds and reaching towards the starry skies. Sora leaned back in his chair, then grinned and put his hands behind his head. At long last, Aqua was home and Ven was awake. This was why he went on his journey. This was why he searched and searched for a way to save the people connected to him. Seeing their smiles was worth every drop of blood and bead of sweat and tear that he’d shed.
Now if only he and Kairi could figure out a way to save Roxas and Naminé. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot as he went over the clues they’d uncovered in his head. Then there was that third person Ienzo had found in his heart—not Roxas or Ven, but someone else entirely.
The question was, who?
“Hey, not bad,” Ven said, entering the cockpit and breaking through his thoughts. It still felt kinda weird that Ven’s heart was no longer in his, but talking to Ven face-to-face like this more than made up for it.
Sora ran his finger under his nose. “What, my driving skills or—”
“Yeah.” Ven sat next to him now that Donald had vacated his seat. “Thanks for bringing us here.”
“Don’t mention it.” He grinned and crossed his arms. “But you should get some rest, sleepyhead. You’ll need your strength for what’s ahead of us.”
“Hey, the last thing I want to do is sleep more,” Ven said with a weak chuckle. “I’ve slept enough to last me a lifetime.”
“Yeah, I can imagine,” Sora said sadly. He struggled to wrap his head around how weird it would be to be asleep for years and years like that, never aging as the worlds moved on without you. At least Aqua hadn’t really aged either—Sora couldn’t imagine how sad Ven would’ve been if she had, if they’d lost all that time together. Especially because Terra was still missing too.
“Still,” Sora continued, “that confrontation with Vanitas was kinda intense. You should at least try to eat something and take a quick nap before everyone else gets back.”
“Sora’s right, we’re having that big debriefin’ meeting here soon,” Goofy said. “Soon as the others arrive.”
“I think they’re already here,” Donald said, peering out the window. Sora’s heart jumped around in his chest. Did that include Kairi too? The group piled out of the Gummi Ship, but Aqua lingered here with him as he gathered his things and stuffed them into his pockets.
“Aqua? What is it?” he asked. She had a very calming, soothing presence. Warm and motherly too, like the cool big sister he’d never had.
“I just wanted to say… Thank you, for everything.” She crossed her hands in front of her and politely bowed her head. Everything she did was graceful, and Sora felt the urge to stand taller and behave himself when she was around.
“Don’t mention it,” he said, waving his hand. It still felt weird how she was bowing to him like this when it should be the other way around. “It’s the least I could do.”
She shook her head. “No, really. It’s thanks to you I’m back in the Realm of Light. It’s thanks to you Ven’s awake.”
“You guys made me who I am,” he said softly, resting a hand over his heart. “I couldn’t just abandon you to your fates, you know?”
She smiled. “I know. It’s not who you are.”
“Not who I want to be, anyway,” he said. “With any luck, I’ll help you find Terra, too.”
A hint of sadness flickered through her eyes at his name, then she nodded. “Thank you, Sora.”
With that, Aqua left him alone in the Gummi Ship, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out Kairi’s lucky charm. His fingers caressed the thalassa shells like he was greeting an old friend. She’d be here at this meeting, and he hadn’t seen her in a while. Would she notice he’d grown since she’d last seen him? Would she like his new clothes, his new hair? Or would she tell him he’d changed too much when she’d told him not to change—
“Pull it together, Sora,” he muttered to himself, tucking the lucky charm back in his pocket. “This is Kairi. She knows you’re not gonna be the same forever, and she’s changed too.”
She’d been training after all and could wield her Keyblade better than ever. He wondered if she’d gotten a new outfit or haircut or anything. How much of the old Kairi would be in this new one? Would she still want anything to do with the lazy bum from home now that traveling the worlds was at her fingertips?
Well, guess there was only one way to find out. He left the Gummi Ship and strolled through the bright green grass to the Tower. Then it was up, up, up the winding staircase till he reached the top of the stairs.
“I’m back!” he called as he opened the door. Everyone was already inside—Master Yen Sid was seated in his chair, Aqua and Ven were to the right of him, Mickey and Riku were next to them, then Donald and Goofy, and to the left of Donald and Goofy were Axel and—and Kairi. She turned to look at him, and he felt like she was the only one in the room.
Her red hair was in a bob now, and she had gotten a new outfit. Pink dress-like thing with adorable animal ears on the hood and a cute skirt with black frills. Her arms had more muscle tone than the last time he’d seen her, and her legs looked really, really good in that skirt. He swallowed and tried not to stare, but she was just so pretty that—
“Hey,” she said, a sweet smile on her face and a playful glint in her eye.
“Um, hey,” he mumbled. Donald snickered, and he shot the duck a glare. Kairi giggled into her hand, and that was such a Kairi thing to do that he knew things would be okay. Even though she’d changed and he had too, she was still Kairi and he was still Sora. The way she was looking at him, he figured she still had a crush on him too despite their time apart.
And maybe, after this meeting, he could tell her that he still had a crush on her too. There was so much stuff on his mind that was kinda hard to put into words, but that seemed like a good starting point. Especially because the road ahead of them was difficult. Saving people always came at a cost. It was worth it, but it wasn’t easy.
Donald and Goofy made room for him, and he stepped forward. His friends having his back with Kairi at his side, he couldn’t think of a better way to take on this next part of his journey.
Master Yen Sid closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “At last, we are all assembled.”