nightmares? nightmares!

[heartslight]

[ So it's been a few days since the Mark of Mastery exam, and during their time staying in Yen Sid's tower, Kairi's noticed Sora's been a little ... off. He hasn't been full of cheer, like he usually is — even just the smallest bit missing, and Kairi'd notice. She's one of a few people who knows him like the back of their hand. The boy wears his heart on his sleeve, after all.

It's clear that something's been bothering him, but to what extent exactly, she wouldn't know. But she's sure it has to do with what happened during their exam — he failed it, after all. Maybe he's a little broken up about it?

So she keeps relatively close to him whenever possible, just in case he needs her for anything. But she can't help but speak up when she notices him trip a little while going up the stairs around bedtime one night, thanks to the lack of coordination that comes with a lack of sleep.

And she's quick to close the gap between them and rush to his side. ]

Sora! Are you okay?

Comments

[heartslight]

[ Maybe everyone's ... putting too much on him. She knows he's always protected her in the past, and she's appreciated it and always known she could count on him tenfold. But he can't be trying to keep everything on his own shoulders when it's clearly hurting him. The last thing in the world she wants is for him to be hurting.

She knows that telling him he doesn't need to protect her is going to be impossible — it's in his nature to do so. And had he not protected her in the past, she wouldn't be here today. But ...

She places her free hand on top of his, and squeezes it a little before slowly slipping both of her hands away.

And then ... wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Don't think she didn't see the glossiness of your eyes, honey. ]

Protecting me ... doesn't mean I can't protect you, too. [ The same goes for Riku, of course. But he's not the one suffering from nightmares right now. (She hopes.) ]

I'm right here. And I'm staying right here until I know you're okay.

[ If that means she's sleeping with him tonight, then so be it! She'll fight off those nightmares no matter what it takes. ]

[oathkeeper]

[Sora never admits it out loud but maybe a part of him really is scared of being that one person that everyone is relying on to save them. That hero of light that has a strong enough heart to be the one to save the universe. Roxas said so to him... 'it has to be him' and it can't be anyone else. He does his best to live up to that, to smile and to fight with all of his heart. But there is a little spark of darkness inside him that scares him because he really is just one boy. One person. What if he fails? What if he's not strong enough to do these things--

... And he knows that's why he failed his exam. That's why Xehanort was able to trap him in that nightmare surrounded by an ocean of bleak darkness.

Sora is only as strong as the people around him are. And he ... He knows that.

The warmth of her hug has him choke back a small sob as he tries so hard to keep it together in front of her. But to feel her arms around him anchors him to something that's real and he can't keep bottling those nightmares up. Tears drop from his eyes and his arms come to hold her, securely, but also with such trembling shoulders.]

I don't think I could do anything... without you. That's how you protect me.

[The thought that she's there, thinking of him, has always been the one thing that's kept him on his feet indefinitely.]

... [After a moment of quiet sobbing Sora inhales slowly and then asks against her temple,] Can you stay here with me tonight?

[heartslight]

[ She can feel his trembling — his fear, his sadness. And that only prompts her to hug him a little tighter. There's nothing in the world she hates more than to see her closest friends going through something painful — but this time, she's here with him. She may not have been able to do anything for him on his previous journeys — through no fault of her own, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. But this time, she's right here, and she'll be damned if she doesn't do anything she can for him.

She smiles softly when he explains how she protects him, and then she pushes the side of her head against his a little when he asks his question. ]

Of course. That way, I can fight the nightmares off in person.

[ She says that with a light tone to her voice, almost as a way to calm the air between the two of them and maybe even calm him down a little. ]

[oathkeeper]

[Her tone gets him to laugh a small puff of laughter as he squeezes her back.]

Geeze, this time I guess you get to be the knight in shining armour.

[About time, really.

He loosens his hold on her just a little so he can look at her face with his small tired smile. Then he realizes that this will sort of be like a slumber party or something and... His cheeks feel a little warm. Gosh.]

Er, there's just... my...

[THERE'S ONLY ONE BED.]

[heartslight]

[ She laughs softly at his observation. ]

Yeah, I guess I do.

[ She's happy to be the knight in shining armor. Let her fight off everything for you, Sora! She's been waiting for this!

But also Sora, please, you're gonna have to finish that sentence. She can't read minds! And she's prone to being oblivious about these sorts of things sometimes. So she looks at him a little curiously. ]

Just your what?

[ Is something wrong? ]

[oathkeeper]

[She's going to make him say it out loud?! This is an attack--]

Um...!

[The thing is he doesn't want her to leave the other thing is she'll should probably share the bed with him then. And than means sharing a bed with a GIRL.]

There's just ........ [SORA SAY IT] my bed. But I could just sleep on the floor or something!

[heartslight]

[ Oh gosh ... Sora ... That was it? ]

Wha — [ Okay, now she's giggling at him. He's so very ... him. ]

You're not sleeping on the floor, silly. We'll just share the bed. It'll be just like when we were younger.

[ They had plenty of sleepovers as children — the three of them. Just ... they haven't had any in a little while, and now they're older, and have (not so secret) crushes on each other and ... yeah. Whatever, at least one of them is being calm about it, right? ]

[oathkeeper]

[That cute giggling only makes Sora's blush on his cheeks worse. Good greif.]

Er- Yeah... Okay, yeah! Just like when we were little.

[Be cool, Sora. It's definitely one hundred percent not like when they were little. When they were four years old all they cared about were cookies and drawing pictures together. Sharing a bed was no big deal. But now? ... Well. They're not little. Kairi is pretty and she's soft and she's ...

He might be a little giddy though. Just as much as he's nervous.

Sora moves to tuck back the blankets.]

Don't get mad if I snore, okay?

[heartslight]

[ Yep, just like when they were little, except completely not. Kairi's at least better at keeping her own feelings in check, or being more casual about them than he is, but ... yeah. He's so warm, and the kindest person she knows. It's hard for her heart not to feel a little excited to sleep with him again.

But she lets out a small breathy laugh at his comment, as she moves herself back on the bed so that she can be ready to get under the covers once they're pulled back. ]

I won't. [ And a little slyly, clearly joking: ] I'll just make fun of you for it in the morning.

[oathkeeper]

Hey... Come on! Give me a break!

[He chuckles again before he hops off the bed to turn out the lights. The moonlight shines through the window and he still doesn't want to close the blinds so he leaves them like that. It makes enough light in the room that he can still see her. Sora moves to pull back the blankets for them and he crawls in, leaving enough room for her to settle next to him.

He feels his heart thumping a little faster too.]

Thanks, Kairi. For staying here tonight.

[heartslight]

[ However he wants to sleep is fine by her. Even if he wanted to keep all the lights on. She's here for him, after all. But the moonlight is pretty anyway, and she's glad to still be able to see him, mostly because it means she'll be able to tell if anything's off with him.

She settles in right next to him, getting comfortable under the blankets and laying on her side so that she's facing him. And she smiles warmly. ]

You don't have to thank me, Sora. I'm here for you whenever you need me ... because I want to be.

[ She doesn't see this as taking anything away from her normal nights. She'd much rather be with him, whether he's feeling sad or not. The way her heart feels right now ... She's worried for him, of course, but it also feels warmer than usual. Because she's next to him. ]

[oathkeeper]

[Once they're both settled down in the covers together and face to face on their sides, Sora smiles warmly too. It's honestly so nice and wonderful to have her warm body next to him as it already makes that tense feeling in his shoulders feel less so. Why hasn't he asked her to sleep in his bed with him before? It's nice to not feel alone.

He can feel his heart thumping a little quicker in his chest, though. A rushing thump-thump. And if he wasn't so tired and exhausted he might not even be able to sleep like this.

Gosh. She's so pretty.]

Good. Uh, I mean. I'm glad.

[He's super smooth. Like, what does he even do with his hands?]

It's nice not being alone.

[heartslight]

[ Sora, honey, you don't have to do anything with your hands because you're laying down. Relax them. Unless you want to do something with your hands, in which case that's going to have to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

She gives a small, smiley nod at his last statement. She'll let his "smoothness" slide. ]

Yeah. [ And this is half with a joking tone, but also she's a little serious with it: ] Maybe we should do this even after your nightmares go away.

[ Leave it to Kairi to blurt things out sometimes. Is she serious? Who knows??

What she does know, though, is that she's happy like this, with him, here. She's going to be protecting him tonight — that much is certain — but being by him still never fails to give her an unwavering feeling of safety and warmth. Like she's at home, even if they're far from it. ]

[oathkeeper]

[Is she serious? IS SHE SERIOUS. He hopes so-- But that is enough to have Sora's cheeks none-to-subtly flare up with a blush as he mutters,]

Uhh... Yeah! I'd be ... I'd be okay with that. If you are.

[It just takes a moment or two for Sora's racing heart to calm down and stop pumping blood into his face. This is normal for two friends. Especially two that have been friends since they were little. But this is Kairi and it's so obvious how much he adores her beyond friendship. It's so warm like this.]

You know, when we were little I felt like I always had better dreams when we had sleepovers.

[He admits this with a small happy smile.]

Guess you've always been my guiding luck charm.

[heartslight]

[ Oh gosh ... That makes her smile so warmly — she feels so happy to hear that, and she just overall feels a little warmer, whether it's out of happiness that she can provide something like that to him or just because of how she feels about him. ]

Then we really should do this more often, huh? [ She exhales a small laugh. But she's definitely being serious. ] I've always felt the same way. Kind of like you were protecting me in my dreams.

[ One guides, and the other protects — and both end up being happier for it. ]

I remember one time, when we were really little, you did show up in my dream. To protect me. [ A literal protector, in this instance, rather than just his presence keeping the bad dreams away. ] I spent the whole next day wondering if I should ask you if it was really you. Kind of silly, huh?

[ She knows that sort of thing can't happen ... probably. Well she can't be so sure now that she's heard of what's been happening to him, but ... it was still silly of her younger self. ]

[oathkeeper]

[That tiny confession has Sora let out a small laugh, his fingers coming up to rub at his nose.]

Aww, you should of asked if it was me. Did I at least look like a cool knight in shining armour? I hope so.

[It's so comfortable like this. Talking about good dreams instead of nightmares. He prefers this so much more than dwelling on the negative things. She puts his heart at such ease and he can already feel the sleepiness catch up to him.]

[heartslight]

[ Mmnn, she likes this, too. And she's glad to see him happy — really glad. It makes her heart feel so warm, to see him smile.

She scoots a little closer to him, laughing softly herself. ]

The coolest. [ Really, he was just himself. His normal self. But that's precisely what makes him the coolest, to her. ] Like always.

[ Is that making her feelings too obvious? Oh well. ]

[oathkeeper]

[That makes him grin. Leave it to Kairi to be so open about agreeing with Sora looking cool when most people wouldn't be caught calling him that (riku, donald). He feels a bit proud.

Sora shifts a little closer too and he feels courageous enough to reach a hand out to touch her hair, tucking a lock of it behind her ear gently.]

Hey. [A knight. He wants to be a good one. For her.] I'll always do my best to protect you. You know that, right? Nightmares or dreams and outside of those too...

[heartslight]

[ Her smile fades a little at the seriousness of what he's saying, before returning back to a smile, as she moves a hand to rest atop his, holding it to her cheek gently. ]

I know. You've come for me every time. And I always know you will. [ Dreams, or real life. Sora's never failed her, and she's never even considered that he might. ]

And I'll do the same for you. Just like now.

[ She's here for him, forever and always. And she pushes her cheek into the hand she's holding to it, a little. ]

[oathkeeper]

[Her touch is so warm. It's always been this comforting light in the midst of all the darkness that he faces. Sora's smile softens and he can't help the flourish of silly love he feels inside his chest.

Maybe part of his nightmares have been that fear of not being able to be there for her. All those times that she's been just slightly out of his reach, ripped away from him... He wants it to stop. He just wants to hold her.]

Yeah. I don't think I'll have any nightmares tonight.

[As long as his heart knows that she's there protecting him too. Sora can't help the urge to pull her to him as he gently reaches to tug her into a hug. Finally, those nervous butterflies are leaving his stomach.]

[heartslight]

[ She feels the same — she only wants to be close to him, but they're always ripped apart for one reason or another. It feels so warm to just spend the night with him. Like it's something that's long overdue.

When he pulls her in, for the first time she feels some butterflies. She's always been so much better than he is with dealing with situations like this — a lot calmer, less easily flustered. But the warmth of his hug, being so close to his heart that she can hear it beating, after a moment of silence. It all just feels so good.

She smiles softly to herself, a small exhale of contentedness escaping, before she moves an arm to hug him in return, resting it on his back.

And she nods, with her head up against him. ]

I'll make sure of it.

[oathkeeper]

Heh. Thanks.

[He wants to remember this when they wake up tomorrow. When they part ways and Kairi goes to train with Lea and Yen Sid and Sora departs on his own journey. He wants to remember the way her heart beats so close to his and the light and warmth of the space between them.

Sora can't help it, he shifts a little closer and brushes his lips against her forehead in a small gentle and telling kiss.]

Goodnight, Kairi.

[He feels sleep start to take him over. And hopefully, he won't drool in his sleep because wouldn't that be ultimately embarrassing.]

[heartslight]

[ The feeling of his lips on her forehead, doing that, makes her heart flutter. She can't help the wide smile her lips are instantly tugged into, nor can she help herself when she exhales softly and contentedly and pushes her face into his neck a little, rubbing her nose against him in a sort of half eskimo kiss. Like a happy puppy.

She doesn't want to forget this either, and this feeling will drive her strongly through her training to come. She'll have this to fall back on any time she misses him. ]

Goodnight, Sora.