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“Do you think…there’s a chance for me to be more than,” she cuts herself off, raising her hand above her, the evening sun glimmering through her ghost-pale form, “just your shadow.” her voice soft despite the heaviness of her words.
Kairi lifted herself up from the comfort of the soft sand beneath her form. The rough, broken up bits of earth falling from her skin and hair, though it seemed practically flawless the way she shook off the remaining bits.
“You truly still think that?” Her voice was soft, with no hint of annoyance or a trail of malice behind the question.
Kairi brought her knees up to her chest, propping her chin onto it. Her eyes never once leaving the girl beside her. The sunset was usually one of her favorite things to watch on the play island. She’d always found something so calming about watching that same sunset and finding solace in the moment. But now, her focus was on the girl who still wore that same white dress from before she gained a sense of identity and self. Her focus was now on the girl with the glistening white skin, now donned with subtle freckles and instead of the deep blue in her eyes, they shined like Angelite crystals.
Namine couldn’t respond despite being the one to initiate the conversation. Her heart raced with all these emotions she couldn’t quite grasp or put into words. Suddenly, Kairi is leaning on her side, blocking out the light from the sun.
“You know I’ve counted your freckles quite a few times—a new one gets added every other month. They suit you well.”
The warmth of summer evening could never compare to the full body blush those words caused for her.
Kairi’s getting to her feet, reaching her hand out to be taken. Namine takes the hand reaching out for her, being pulled to her feet by a gentle force. Then she’s being held in a warm embrace. Kairi’s chest is warm and welcoming. Of course it is though, because for what felt like an eternity that was her home. Inside Kairi’s heart was the sanctuary she’d come to love after her reunion with her somebody.
Trapped in a birdcage until she’d realized the warmth such a pure heart could carry.
Suddenly she’s being twirled until she and Kairi are facing the never-ending vast expanse of sea. The warmth of the seafoam hit their bare feet.
“Do you feel that? The water on your feet, the sand between your toes, and the warmth of the setting sun?”
“Of course I do, and they all feel overwhelming, but in a good way.”
Kairi takes Namine’s hand and leads them further into the water’s embrace. There’s a moment where Namine wonders to herself what all of this is for. But then she sees that genuinely bright and warming smile cross tanned skin. Indigo eyes glimmering with hints of blue and she swears there’s stars dazzling in them. Her cheeks warm up again; she must have a fever creeping up on her.
“That’s the beauty of it all. Feeling overwhelmed but never wanting it to end.” Kairi’s hands are warm and soft, and Namine trusts her to be her guide.
The darkness of early night begins to creep up on them, and there’s this perfect moment where the shadows of the island were most prominent. The moment she realizes their shadows looming behind them out of the corner of her eye, Kairi brings them back to the shore. Their hands interlocked, she steps closer to the girl with the white dress and the Angelite eyes and the lightly dusted freckled cheeks.
Her eyes drift down her frame, not in a manner that felt invasive, but instead a manner of observation. Her white dress clinging to her body; her skin shimmering. And then she’s shifting her gaze back to their shadows.
“See that,” she directs Namine to look with her, and when she sees the girl follow her lead she continues, “there’s two shadows.”
It all clicks in her head and for a moment she feels the heart she owns begin to tighten and a lump form in her throat. Indeed, there stood two shadows hand-in-hand. That warm hand finds a place on her cheek, and it brings her back to the present. Indigo-blue eyes stare past the surface and dig deep into her very bones and find the deepest parts of his soul so easily.
She’d known Kairi inside and out, being a part of her for so long, yet Kairi’s resilience kept pushing until she found the deepest, most vulnerable parts of Namine’s own unique soul. Kissing her fragile heart and giving it life. Tears well up until she feels them begin to pour over and spill down until they breach the hand still cupping her cheek.
“You’re special, Namine. To Sora and Riku and Roxas. To every one of our friends. And…me.” Now it’s Kairi’s turn to feel that special kind of warmth of admiration coat her cheeks. Her hands grip harder around hers, and then she’s stepping closer and pressing her lips under those tear-stained eyes.
“And I think who you are is beautiful. Every part of you.” Then there’s a new, softer kind of embrace. Namine’s eyes widened in surprise before drifting closed. Feeling the soft sand between her feet, the seafoam brushing her ankles, the summer evening sun on her skin, and a softness on her lips.
And for once in her life, she is human. She is whole. She is loved by the girl she calls her sanctuary.