#kaiora

Author's Note: Riku is visiting his surrogate father, King Mickey, at Disney Castle, which is why he's not in this fic and why Kairi didn't buy gelato for him:)

"So, what's this gelato supposed to be like?" Sora asked Kairi, opening up the bin of crema flavored dessert she'd brought back from the most recent world she'd visited.

His crema was lemon flavored, because he was always telling her that she was so sweet he didn't need even more sweetness on top of her (ironic, given the situation here She was all he needed.

She decried him cheesy whenever he would say such a thing, and would swiftly tickle him when it would happen, but she'd secretly swoon.

"Well, for one thing, it's supposed to have twice the sugar as ice cream," Kairi explained, remembering what her friend Lizzie McGuire's teacher Miss Ungermeyer had said about it when she'd visited the world of "Sun." But she also thought there was more to it than that, though she couldn't put her finger on it just now...

"Really? That sounds intense!" Sora exclaimed. But even though he said that, Kairi knew he was excited to try it, for he slid closer to her on the paopu tree, not further away. And, of course, the real test was when he took the plastic spoon Kairi had given him, took a bite and moaned in pleasure--that also proved to Kairi that he also really did like sweet things, maybe even double the sugar. She laughed.

Sora blushed, maybe in realizing the jig was up with his line he tried to pull on her, but choosing not to dwell on that, he instead pointed out the limone gelato in Kairi's own lap and asked her, "Aren't you going to eat yours?"

"Of course. Who would I be if I didn't?" Kairi joked. And not just because the inside of a paopu fruit was green on the inside, and lime reminded her of the sweet and salty taste of one... or because she'd also come to love green over the years, because Sora and Riku's eyes could look that shade, or even because she'd really even come to bond with Goofy. But because just in general, she wanted to try gelato herself, dangit!

And so she did! And it was absolutely delicious! Kairi felt her eyes rolling back in her head at the taste of it, just as Sora's had. Kairi liked ice cream. She did. But it had always tasted overly milky to her, but this didn't have that problem at all! And it was so much better for it, she thought, going back for her second bite!

Oh, wait. She thought that that was maybe what she'd heard about gelato when she'd bought it from the vendor--before rocketing back to the gummi ship to put the two quartz in the freezer, there before piloting home to Sora and Riku: gelato was made with cream instead of milk, which certainly made sense to her now!

"Do you want to try a bite of mine?" Sora asked, pulling Kairi out of her thoughts with his words.

And she beamed at him, before offering him her own spoon. "Sure! But only if you try some of mine!"

And the moment Kairi tasted the bit of lemon, she was instantly in heaven once more. Lemon and lime truly were flavor friends. They went together perfectly, like peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and peanut butter, chocolate and coffee, or...

The only downside was that they were eating it on a hot island, and now the gelato was melting down her arm, Kairi saw--wondering if she should risk looking like a fool and lick it off from there or if she should just let it drip off. They could always go to her or Sora's house, in the air conditioning, and eat it, Kairi thought, but then it'd be cold to eat. Unless they turned the air conditioning off and just used fans? Hmm...

"We harmonize well," Sora said, once again interrupting where Kairi's mind had gone, as the ice cream drip that had been on her arm fell to the sand beneath her.

"Hmm?" Kairi asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Our taste in flavors," Sora laughed, looking at Kairi suspiciously. But then, with a mischievous look on his face, he continued on with, "And maybe in other ways, as well."

It was proof that they'd been in a relationship for a little bit now, and that Kairi was warming up to his compliments and that she didn't blush at this. Instead, she kicked sand at him and laughed, "Goof. Now, what do you say we finish what we're going to of our gelato, take the rest home, and go for a swim?"

"Sounds golden, Kairi!" Sora replied, ironically, just as the sun came out even further to shine on the sea, making it look truly golden.

It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.

Author's Note: The paopu fruit actually IS green on the inside (we see this in a picture in one of the Ultimanias).

And I recently found out the original Coded had a prologue that's lost media at the moment (that wasn't in Re:Coded, for instance, but fans are trying to save it and all of Coded, in getting it all playable and translated on an emulator and that sort of thing), that actually tells us what the paopu fruit tastes like: apparently, it's salty and sweet, similarly to sea salt ice cream.

I decided to title the Lizzie McGuire world "Sun" based on the "you shine with the light from the sun" line from the movie, that everyone remembers to this day and quotes, since if the Lizzie McGuire movie was ever in KH, they wouldn't call it Rome. And that's a key part in the movie, where Isabella makes Lizzie realize, "who are you going to believe, this boy you are knowing your whole life or... This boy you are just meeting who says...'You shine with the light from the sun?'"

"This world is beautiful," Kairi commented, taking in the beaches that Sora's friend, Stitch, called home.

In many ways, it reminded her of Destiny Islands, yes—that she would always see as her home—but that wasn't why she thought it was moving. Rather, it was so sweet to think that Stitch had found such a loving family here, and it reminded Kairi of her own family.

"You think so?" Sora asked, a smile in his voice, Kairi could hear, as he walked down the shore hand-in-hand with her.

What a wonderful feeling this was: one she promised herself she'd never let be ripped from her again. She was too strong to let such a thing happen now—or for Sora to get hurt on her watch—and Kairi was forever thankful for it.

"I do, too," Sora said, bringing Kairi back to reality. "Though it's sad it's connected to a place that would want to kill Stitch, or tear him away from his family," Sora said sadly.

'And that it's somehow connected to that era of Keyblade wielders that was forgotten until now,' Kairi thought, but didn't say.

"It is, Sora, it really is," the Princess said, squeezing her boyfriend's hand tighter… "But I also know what you're getting at here. And I swear that our friends and I will never let anything take you from the Realm of Light again. I promise."

After Kairi had said those heartfelt words, she thought that she and Sora might have a moment then. That perhaps they’d lace their fingers together ever tighter, or share one of their favored hugs… Perhaps they’d even finally share the kiss she knew the both of them were dreaming of…

More than anything, Kairi had hoped that Sora would be reassured by what she had said. So, she was more than a little shocked when she eventually noticed they seemed to put a damper on his spirits.

"I appreciate it, Kairi. Really, I do," Sora said, smiling at Kairi widely for just a moment… but was she imagining it, or did Sora look a little strained in doing so? "But you… you really don't have to promise me things like that. Or to try so hard, I mean!"

"I don't- I don't understand," the Princess of Heart admitted, as the couple chose that minute to take a seat on a park bench. And just as they did, a cute cat with a blue-ish black coat jumped into Kairi's lap—and he reminded Kairi so much of the afore-mentioned Stitch as she petted him—but she knew now was not the time to mention it.

"It's just that… you guys—my friends—have been… walking on eggshells with me ever since I came back from Quadratum. And I truly understand why, Kairi," Sora said the last in a pleading voice, as he took her free hand once more and looked deeply into her eyes. "And I thank you for it. But... you don't have to do that. I swear I'm- that I'll be fine."

Oh.

While Kairi hadn't gone through nearly as much what Sora had—of course not—she thought she understood where he was coming from. Were they all coddling him too much now?

Riku and the King had been right to let her train with Axel, even after how they had first met (even if she had been a little afraid at first), because now she had a new best friend in her life.

But everyone was so… fearful of what had happened with Sora to lead him to Quadratum—and what had happened to him there—that they wanted to protect him so much. But in doing so, were they overdoing it and not allowing him to grow?

"I'm sorry, Sora… I'm sorry if all of us have been too much for you since you've gotten home," Kairi said, looking deeply into her boyfriend's blue eyes and being so relieved to find that, despite everything, they still looked the same and hardly troubled at all. "Thinking over my actions since seeing you again… well, I can see how I might seem overwhelming. And that's the opposite of what's good."

Sora laughed: either at Kairi's words or the kitty who had just crawled onto his lap, Kairi wasn't sure, but she wished that she could forever remember the sound, for nothing had ever sounded more pure to her. "It's just that I want to live like I did before, y'know? Fighting for the Realm of Light with my friends by my side… and maybe goofing off a lot along the way. But if you guys put me in bubble wrap, I'm never even gonna fit in the gummi ship!"

Now it was Kairi's turn to laugh at Sora's analogy. Yes, she had most definitely missed this. And she was glad to have it back. And Sora was right that he needed to be allowed to bring this normality back.

"You're right, Sora. Whatever was I thinking? I mean, I'm the one who's always called you a lazy bum. I can't have you slacking now!"

Sora rolled his eyes at that, but Kairi could tell it was in good humor and that her reaction had been exactly what he’d been looking for.

“No, we can’t have that, can we?” Sora sighed. “Even when I first appeared in Traverse Town, scared out of my mind in fighting the Heartless for the first time, you had to wake me up by calling me a ‘lazy bum.’”

“It was only right!” Kairi defended herself now, though she was mainly joking, of course. “I had just found myself in your heart—though I really had no idea what was going on at the time—so I needed you to find me… and explain that to me, I guess. There was no time for your long naps.”

Somewhere during their banter, Kairi had found herself falling into Sora’s arms… and their faces were closer than ever as they looked deeply into each other’s eyes.

Yes, this was exactly what they needed, for they were the same, weren’t they? Both beings of light, who didn’t hold grudges… And even when trauma happened to them, they didn’t stay in feelings of darkness long, but rather strived for the light again, both for themselves and those who looked to them. She’d been silly to forget that.

Sora’s lips were on Kairi’s for less than a minute, Kairi thought. Not too long at all. He didn’t want to overdo it with their first kiss: something that was meant to be spontaneous and innocent. Really, it was such a short time, she wondered if she had enough time to properly remember what the joining of their lips together had felt like at all.

But she did.

As Sora pulled away from her while blushing down to his toes, she thought, she knew it was nothing but the purest magic she’d ever encountered. She smiled.

Standing up now, Sora offered Kairi his hand (which she readily took) as he pulled her to her feet with a scheming expression on his face. Curious.

“C’mon, Kairi. Now that we’ve got the heavy taken care of, what do you say we find Stitch on this world? He’s the best companion you could ever ask for, but so mischievous, too! The way light should be.” ‘Not what the Master of Masters is doing,’ Kairi knew Sora was thinking, but didn’t say. “I know you’ll love him!”

Well, he knew her, so she most definitely would, at that. But she had a condition first. “Only if we can take this little dear of a kitty we accidentally displaced while we were kissing with us. He needs a home, don’t you think? And Lilo seems like the kind who would be more than willing to oblige.”

The kitty looked at Kairi’s words questioningly, maybe even incredulously, but Sora didn’t seem to notice: for he swooped the kitty up in one hand before swooping Kairi up in other, while she instantly protested.

“I always wanted to do that,” he said, while she playfully beat on his back, demanding to be put down.

“Well, let’s go, Kairi… and in take in some life while we can. Wee!”

And Sora started running with both her and the cat in his arms before she could protest, though Kairi did think better of the situation and switch the cat—who she was now calling “Veil”—into her hands—and while she wanted to argue this… seeing Sora so free like this, she found she couldn’t.

This was what they were all fighting for, wasn’t it? What they’d fought for before, even, and always would. And it was a lovely sight behold.

Not being able to resist the urge to do this, Kairi very carefully maneuvered herself so she could rise up sightly and kiss Sora’s cheek as he ran.

Yes, they were living indeed.

Author’s Note: For my bestie Liz’s birthday=)

If I’m being honest… I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to write a SoKai fic for you this year. KH has left us in this weird place, where we honestly don’t know enough about Quadratum or KHIV stuff to really write about the next saga and make it believable. But at the same time, it’s kind of hard to write about anything else, since that’s where we’ve left off at, and pretty much every other mystery has been solved. So it’s sort of a pickle.

I’ll admit that I don’t always have fun writing KHIV fics for the former reason, and it isn’t always fun.

But I’m pretty pleased with how this fic turned out. In some ways, it might be one of my better KHIV fics, imo, in just having Sora and Kairi dealing with emotional stuff and the fallout of KHIV (and being back in the Realm of Light): like Sora not wanting to be coddled and everyone needing to understand that. Even if this did get more shipp-y than I intended at the end. Oh well.

Also, this takes place in the Lilo and Stitch world, since people were speculating that that one world in Missing Link might be Moana or that, so I thought it might be fun to put Sora and Kairi there… even if ended up having little to do with Lilo and Stitch in the end. Pfft. =)