Disclaimer: I don't own KH!

A/n: This story was really fun to write, I'm kind of sad to see it end. This might get a sequel later on, I'm not sure yet.

Thanks so much for the reviews! Here's a nice, long grand finale for you all. Sorry if there are any mistakes, I wrote all of this in one sitting and I'm really tired.

Chapter Five

Riku moved quickly, packing what they wanted to take and leaving what wasn't needed. He threw bags out of the cave and looked at the tent for a moment, finally deciding to pack it up, seeing as it held some sentimental moments now. He brushed the sand off his hands and rested for a moment, sighing heavily. What a day, he had been working all morning and now it was late noon, and he still hadn't eaten anything. Kairi had made some food to 'celebrate' Sora's return, but he really didn't feel like eating. Not that he wasn't happy to see Sora, too, he just wasn't happy with how enthusiastic his girlfriend seemed about it…

He heard her giggle outside the cave somewhere and his shoulders dropped. Who was he kidding? She didn't want anything to do with him now that Sora had come back again. He should have known it was too good to be true.

He finished packing up the tent and hauled it out onto the beach for Sora to load onto the gummi ship, leaving it in a growing pile or supplies. He crossed his arms and looked over at the two best friends. They sat on the beach, talking happily. Sora said something funny and Kairi laughed, shoving him playfully. Riku found himself scowling and spun around, staring at the waterfall. He looked over at the fence he had built and wished he wasn't leaving, he loved this island and destroyed or not, it was his home.

Sora glanced over his shoulder and spotted his friend there. He pouted slightly and turned back to Kairi. She looked so beautiful in the sunlight, her red hair shining as she smiled over at him. His heart ached, he had looked forward to this day for so long. All he wanted to do was lean over and kiss her, let all his problems just melt away.

"You should go help Riku, he's gonna yell at us for being so lazy." He smiled brightly and stood up. Kairi just sat there, glancing between the two boys.

"In a minute, I don't really want to get up yet." She said softly. He shrugged and walked over towards Riku.

"Hey Riku, what's up?" He patted his friend on the back as he stopped beside him. Riku looked over and sighed.

"I don't want to leave, we grew up here, it doesn't seem right to just abandon it now." He said, looking up at the trees above the waterfall. Sora nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but there's nothing left here, Riku. I don't want to go either, I fought for so long so we could keep this place, but there's nothing left now. Maybe in a couple years, we can get some more people and then we can make it Destiny Islands again, but for now we need to go." He replied sadly. Riku didn't respond and he thought quickly.

"Look, Leon has a place for you guys to live in Hollow Bastian, it's a really great town, you'll love it." He said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Maybe…" Riku finally whispered. He looked over at the brunette. "You knew this happened, didn't you?" He asked quietly. Sora nodded again.

"Yeah, I knew…" His voice cracked slightly and he tried to hide it by clearing his throat. "I wish I could have warned you somehow."

Riku turned and crawled back into the cave. He walked forward and glanced around at the now empty cave, looking at the drawings on the walls. Sora crawled in behind him and looked around.

"This place really hasn't changed, huh?" He bend down and picked up a piece of chalk lying on the ground. Walking over to the wall, he began drawing.

Riku watched miserably as his best friend sketched on the stone wall. Three figures appeared and soon they were recognizable as the three best friends themselves, all holding hands in front of the ruined island. It was clear that they were crying and Riku smiled grimly as he watched the boy finish the sketch. He stepped back and looked at it, and Riku took the chalk from his hand. He moved forward and wrote beneath the picture 'in our hearts forever'.

"Yeah." He said, looking at the image. "Let's go."

xxxxxxx

It was early evening and they had finished loading everything into the gummi ship. All that was left was to say goodbye. The three stood on the beach, hugging sadly as they took a last look at their home. Riku broke away and walked down the beach a little way. He found what he was looking for and climbed up a hassled tree. Dropping back down onto the sand, he walked back to his friends and held up several young paopu fruit. He put them in his bag and held one up to his friends.

He took a bite out of it and almost cringed at the bitter flavor. Chewing sadly, he swallowed it and handed it to Sora, who did the same. When he had taken a bite, he gave it to Kairi and they watched as she followed their lead and handed it back to Riku. He looked down at it for a moment before drawing his arm back and throwing it into the trees above the island. They turned around and looked out at the sunset across the ocean.

Kairi began to sniffle and Riku put an arm around her as tears began to fall down her flushed cheeks. Sora looked pretty miserable himself and he fell softly onto the sand. They watched for several minutes as the sun sank lower in the sky.

"We should go…" Riku broke the silence as turned around again, moving towards the gummi ship. Kairi nodded and followed him, taking one last look at her home before scrambling into the ship.

Sora paused in the doorway and watched Kairi flop miserably into a seat. He looked over at the familiar island and sighed.

"I'm really going to miss it." he whispered. Riku forced a smile.

"We'll see it again, don't worry." He said gently, stepping into the gummi ship and offering Sora a hand up the step. He jumped up beside his friend and closed the door.

He made his way over to the controls and got the ship ready for liftoff. The engine powered up and the gentle hum reverberated throughout the cabin. Sora took the pilot's seat and Riku sat next to him, looking out the windshield at his home. The ship slowly began to rise and they looked back when they heard a broken sob from the cabin. Kairi had her head in her hands and her body was shaking. Riku gave her a sympathetic look, but didn't feel much like comforting anyone at the moment. The islands disappeared below them and Riku looked over at Sora's somber face. The autopilot kicked in and he got up, looking down at Riku. He moved over to Kairi and sat down beside her, putting an arm around her trembling shoulders. Riku quickly followed and put am arm around her waist. All there was to do now was wait.

xxxxxxx

The gummi ship touched down gently on the cobblestone floor of the hangar. The door swung open and the bystanders waited in anticipation as Sora jumped down onto the floor. He rubbed a hand across his face and moved towards them.

"Well? What happened? Where they alright?" Leon moved forward quickly as the keyblade master stared up at him. Aerith bit her lip and clenched her hands hopefully as Yuffie ran to join Leon. Sora turned to look back at the gummi ship and everyone follow his lead, staring anxiously at the door.

Riku jumped out and held up at hand. Kairi took it and he helped her down without releasing her hand. They stood there for a moment and gazed across the hangar at the restoration committee. Riku grinned and held up a hand in greeting, and a cheer broke out from the group.

"We were so worried when Sora got back and told us what happened! He was so upset I thought he was going to have a panic attack. He left again right away, Donald and Goofy didn't even have a chance to catch up to him!" Aerith cried, running over to the two slightly confused friends and checking to make sure they were alright.

"Aw, leave 'em alone, I'm sure they've been through enough already." Cid broke through the excited group and crossed his arms. "We have a place ready, I bet you could use some rest!" He said, looking back at Leon.

The brunette nodded and Sora walked back to the gummi ship. "We'd better unpack, it won't take too long." He said, climbing back up to start throwing bags out onto the ground.

Riku and Kairi stood back and watched in amazement as everyone joined in, grabbing bags and supplies and moving back out of the hangar with Leon directing them. They followed the restoration committee through town for several minutes until they came to a small house near their headquarters. Leon opened the door and threw a bag down inside.

"It's all we could find on such short notice." he said as Kairi peeked inside.

"Wow, you're going to let us live here?" She stared up at him wide eyed. He nodded and stepped back out to let her look around.

"Yeah, this place has been empty for a long time."

She looked around the room, a big living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and stairs leading up to a second floor. She moved up the stairs and noticed that the entire upstairs was a bedroom. She ran back down to thank him, but he had already disappeared again. She ran into Riku instead and grabbed his hands in excitement.

"Isn't this amazing? Our own house!" He watched her happily and glanced back to Sora. He dropped a bag at their feet and grinned.

"See? There are perks to personally knowing the guy who saved the universe." Riku punched him playfully and laughed.

It only took half an hour to get everything dropped off with them and Leon and the committee called it a night. They left the three friends alone in their new home. There was a couch against the wall and Riku flopped down on it in exhaustion. The other two sat down beside him and Kairi put her head on his shoulder.

"I'm hungry…" She whined. Riku nodded in agreement. "Me too."

"Wow, I can't believe you guys are going to live here in town. I can see you whenever now, that flight to Destiny Islands was a killer." Sora said softly, leaning forward on the couch. He finally pushed himself up to his feet and walked into the kitchen.

"Aerith bought us some groceries, so I can make some food if you guys want." Riku and Kairi both replied with a resounding yes.

xxxxxxx

Kairi awoke suddenly and sat up in alarm. Her eyes adjusted to the sunlight filtering in through the window above her and she stared around in confusion. The sounds she was accustomed to had vanished, replaced by the sounds of the town coming to life. She ran a hand through her messy red hair and stared around the room. She was wrapped halfway in a blanket and her leg dangled over the edge of the bed. Looking down, she noticed Sora and Riku fast asleep on the floor beneath her.

She sat back and hugged her knees when she remembered what had happened. Destiny Islands was gone, Sora was back, and they lived in this small house in Hollow Bastian now. She wanted to cry, but it was too early. Instead, she climbed off the edge of the bed and stepped over the sleeping boys. Sora mumbled in his sleep as she walked past, and she smiled to herself. She went downstairs and got some cold cereal, sitting on the couch as she ate. No sand, just carpet, she missed the beach already. Some time later, Riku stumbled downstairs closely followed by Sora, and the two wandered into the kitchen. It wasn't long before they were fighting and arguing as usual, and Kairi sighed and retreated into the bathroom for a shower.

Sora ran back out into the living room and took Kairi's place on the couch, watching Riku stumble after him. He stared at the bathroom door for a moment before turning back to his best friend and smiling.

"I'm happy for you." he said simply. Riku stopped and stared at him.

"Sora…" he began, not really sure what he should say. The brunette stopped him.

"It's okay, you don't to try and explain anything. You guys are still my best friends." he smiled honestly at the older boy, but Riku couldn't help but feel guilty.

Kairi finally came back out of the bathroom, towel drying her hair. She smiled at the boys, "You guys should get cleaned up, I want to go see the town." They jumped on her request and she watched as they fought over who got to take a shower first.

It wasn't long before Kairi began heading out the door and the two friends were left to struggle after her. Sora had just closed the door behind him and was struggling into his shoe when Kairi had turned the corner up ahead and disappeared. Riku called for him to hurry up and ran after her.

After hours of exploration, the three finally rested in the Bailey. Kairi was perched in the window staring out at the expanse beneath them, and Riku leaned on the wall nearby. Sora was seated on the ledge beside Kairi, but faced the opposite way. Riku watched them suspiciously as they talked without him. He glared down at them subconsciously, a pang going through his heart every time she laughed at Sora's joke. She ignored Riku, standing there above her. He couldn't take it anymore, she was flirting with Sora right in front of him.

"Hey, I'm gonna go look around up at the castle. You guys catch up, I'll be back in a little while." He turned and left, and Sora looked after him sadly. He called out to the teen, but he had already jumped down the ledge and was off and running towards the castle.

"So what's been keeping you so busy you couldn't come see us, anyway?" Kairi asked, drawing his attention away from their friend.

xxxxxxx

"Hey." Riku gave a small wave to the tall, stern man as he entered the computer room. Leon looked back at him in surprise.

"Need something?" he asked, leaning over the computer and pressing several buttons.

"Not really, just thought I might look around. It's been a while since I was here before." he replied, brushing a hand along the computer console.

"This is his super computer, huh? I never got to see it." He looked down at the display and Leon grunted in response.

"It used to be a complete mess, but Sora went in and fixed it up so we could use it." he stated., watching the boy.

"You're really lucky, you know that?" Riku spun around when Aerith entered the room. She smiled at him and he returned it.

"It's a miracle that you survived that storm. Sora was really scared for you two." She said. Riku nodded and shifted his gaze back down toward the computer.

"You should spend time with him while you can, he'll have to leave again as soon. Now he has to fight the heartless and the nobodies, his life is very demanding." Riku looked up at her as she leaned down to smile warmly at him. He nodded and moved back towards the door. He pause in the doorway and looked back at her.

"Do you ever feel like you don't belong, even though you know you should? Like when you really love someone, but you know they love someone else, and you just can't let it go?" He asked suddenly. Leon's eyes shot up to the two and he watched Aerith worriedly.

Her gaze softened at the thought and she hummed sadly to herself. "Yes, everyday…" Leon moved over and brushed his hand against her arm, he really wasn't very good at comforting. "You should just be glad you can be so close to two people you care so much about." She smiled yet again and Riku nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." he ducked out the doorway and dashed back towards his friends.

He walked quietly once he reached the Bailey, and stood poised behind the wall to see if they were still there. Sora had turned around so they were both facing the horizon, and Kairi was giggling again.

"Right down there, a thousand of them." Sora pointed down out the window and Kairi followed his gaze to the Great Maw.

"Wow, and you weren't even scared?" She grinned at him and shoved him playfully. "You're so brave!" he laughed.

"Come on, 'course I was scared. All my friends were out there fighting them, I can't believe no one got hurt…" Kairi hummed at his response.

"I would have been really scared…" She said softly.

"Aw, Riku and I would have protected you." He replied. Kairi grew silent and Riku watched her face fall sadly again.

"I really missed you. I didn't think you were ever coming back." She said.

Sora didn't know what to say and they both sat there quietly for a few moments. Riku watched as they drew closer and Kairi's eyes began to slide closed. His heart jerked painfully, but he kept watching. Sora twitched slightly and leaned forward towards her. It seemed to take forever, Riku's heart beating loudly the whole time. He knew he should do something to stop it, but it didn't seem right. If she wanted to leave him for Sora, he wouldn't stop her. Their lips were almost touching and he forced himself not to look away. He breathed in deeply as they drew closer together.

All at once, Kairi jumped and pulled away. She held a hand to her head and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sora, but I'm in love with Riku…" She mumbled, not wanting to look at him.

Riku stared ahead in shock and slid down the wall until he was seated awkwardly on the stone floor. Sora wrapped an arm around her and hugged her gently.

"I know… I really shouldn't have done that." He replied.

"You'll always be my best friend." Kairi said, turning around and climbing to her feet. Sora nodded and smiled. "I need to go find Riku.." She murmured, taking off toward the castle.

She stopped and cried out in surprise at the top of the steps, staring down at him in shock. He looked up at her with meek aqua eyes and she stumbled back.

"Riku!" She held a hand to her heart and Sora looked over with interest. The silver haired boy got up and brushed himself off.

"You were listening in on us!" She accused, putting her hands on her hips. Riku shrugged and she hit him playfully.

"Let's just go home." he said, taking her hand.

xxxxxxx

"What are you doing? Lunch is ready!" Kairi called from the door. Riku and Sora were crouched over a pot in front of the small house. She stepped forward to see what they were up to and caught sight of their project.

"What is that?" She asked, pointing to the pot in suspicion.

"It's going to be a paopu tree!" Sora replied happily, holding it up for her to see.

"Yeah, well, it looks like dirt right now." She teased, going back into the house. Sora pouted and cradled it to his chest lovingly.

"Come on, I'm hungry." Riku ran past him into the house, and Sora followed them, setting the beloved plant down just inside the door.

Riku wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of his sandwich. Sora darted in and grabbed it from him, dodging him as he ran back out of the kitchen laughing. He went to chase him down, but Kairi grabbed him. She pulled him close and kissed him gently. She released him quickly and blushed, turning away to get her own food. She turned to leave when Riku called out to her.

"Kairi." She stopped and looked back.

"I love you." He whispered. She smiled and blushed again, rushing back out to take a seat next to the energetic brunette on the couch.

The End Please review and let me know what you thought of the story!