#lightfought

' you're right , i don't . i'd like to know , though . if you ever wanted to talk about it ... i'd like to think i can understand , at least some of what you've been through . ' he'll offer the other a smile , not quite his signature grin but somewhere in between . ' what i really mean , is if you need a friend to confide in , i've got open ears and a shoulder to lean on , neku . '

    Those words were exactly what Neku needed to hear ages ago, but no one ever offered. Sora truly was a ... good person. It was the kind of person that Neku now strived to be but sometimes their old self poked through. It made their heart pang that they would jump to defend themselves so quickly over nothing.

So he says while her tapping on the matter only boosted that jovial feeling. Raising himself up, he’s not quite letting go of her hand yet while Kairi speaks her truth. Then and only then does that peaceful jolt kicks his heart, making his face warm.

”Well, as much as I’ve had a lifelong amount of practice on this? I’d hope I’d be an expert on Kairi smiles by now! Buuuut hey, are you sayin’ there isn’t no gentleman bones in my body here?” Oh does that make him huff in entirely mock offense.

                         location .   continued from an ask ;   here .

     “ wait, huh, president ?   i thought you made riku president ! ”   oh, her smile, even carved out of sadness, is infectious to the self-destructive hero ;   he grins so foolishly as he grabs both of her hands with his  &&  leans down to press their foreheads together.   he’s careful in his movements.   they carry the grace of battle in them ---   but also the tender care of someone who treasures what he holds.   she’s no longer delicate.   the damsel in distress never suited her anyway...   but still, how much destruction have his hands wrought over the years of fighting ?

     “ we can get ice cream  &&  go down to the beach...   &&  if you want to cry, you can.   whoever said crying was bad is a dummy. ”

‘ stay.  please. ’ 

he feels so  small  ,  so unlike  himself  ,  it’s  hardly  very heroic.  ven’s hand in his  ,  the other on the side of his face is  grounding  ,  pulls him from his frantic thoughts for a moment  ,  reminds him that this is  real  ,  that  he’s  real  ,  that he’s  home  .  he tenses slightly when ven pulls him closer  ,  relaxing after a moment with a  shaky  sigh.

he feels  vulnerable  ,  in a way that would make him uncomfortable if it were anyone else.  but it’s  ven  ,  who knows him the same way sora knows himself  ,  the same way sora knows  ven  .  he shifts slightly in the blonde’s hold  ,  pressing his head to ven’s chest to listen to his heartbeat  ,  a solid reminder that he’s here as he clings to ven like a frightened child. 

{🖊️}- She knows his words should be comforting -- that her question was one that she shouldn’t have even needed to ask, but it’s a thought that’s always weighed heavy in her heart.

“Well... You know that I had to put Sora’s memories back together...” She can’t even look Ven in the eye as she speaks, her gaze focused on their hands as if waiting to see some kind of hint that he’s about to pull away.

“But they only needed to be put back together because of me in the first place. I was the one that took his memories apart -- and I didn’t even know there was another heart inside of his at the time...”

She wants to pull her own hands away as if that will help keep her from hurting him -- keep her own heart safe from any hurt that may come next.

‘ you....huh ?? ’ 

well.  that’s certainly  one  way to respond to someone saying they love you.  he sits in silence for a moment  ,  like a  fool  ,  feeling his face turn  redder  with every passing second.  he’s flustered  ,  blinking  &  feeling like a fish out of water.  &  then he speaks  ,  &  kaito feels like an even  bigger  idiot. 

‘ i, uh....me too.  about you. ’ 

nice job. 

‘ i-i mean....i-i... ’ 

wow  ,  this is  so  much harder to say than he thought.