Skyward

Chapter One – Planting

The first time that Kairi met Sora was at the first university dorm party of the year. It was a huge event where the new freshmen were introduced to what others claimed would be the first of the best nights of their young lives.

Kairi was in an all-girls dorm, and she had never been a partier in high school. Most people had tended to think that she was a huge snob because she didn't talk to many people, but that was never the case. She had just been very shy and assumed that if people wanted her to talk to them, then they would ask. She wanted to open up a little more, so when she had gone to university, she did all of the embarrassing orientation week things with everyone else, she smiled and laughed and tried to talk to more people, and it had all gone very well for her. Her roommate, a nice girl named Xion Keys, was a little more outgoing and had gone out of her way to make friends with her new roommate. Xion had seen her and instantly called her out on being shy, but said not to worry because she would help her out. Kairi quickly became friends with her.

Kairi had agreed to go to the party, thinking that the stories she heard about university parties couldn't possibly be true. It was an excruciatingly hot night, but she had chosen to go to university on an island just to get away from her home, so she couldn't complain. It was so hot that most of the girls put on short skirts and small shirts that showed more than they covered. Kairi's parents had only ever given her skirts that went passed her knees, so Xion had lent her a black skirt with a pair of black shorts underneath, as well as one of her pink tank tops. That way she wouldn't be overly hot and she looked cute, but she wasn't exposing too much. She had stuck close to Xion as they walked across campus, and it was only when they were at the building where the party was that she got nervous. It was an all boys dorm, and it was said to be a big party place.

Already, there were people everywhere, and Kairi knew that the stories of university parties were pretty accurate actually. She had shied off to a corner after loosing sight of Xion, drinking her glass of punch that tasted surprisingly sweet and not at all like she imagined alcohol so she was sure that there was none in it. She was naïve and sheltered though, and it had never occurred to her that some alcohol tasted exactly like juice or was hard to taste when mixed with the right things. Her world was spinning in front of her several cups later, and she was vaguely aware of a young man standing entirely too close to her. He was trying to talk to her, but she barely paid attention to him. She remembered him holding out his hand in front of her and she remembered taking it, even though she wasn't sure why. She could barely remember following him through the halls of the dorm, but she did remember him pushing her through the door to his room, pushing her onto the bed and getting on top of her. She had known then that something was wrong with her then. She didn't kiss random guys, she didn't go into rooms with them on her own, and she certainly did not sleep with random guys. She could remember trying to get up but he wouldn't stop touching her and kissing her anywhere but the lips. She had tried to push him off but he didn't seem aware that she didn't want to sleep with him.

Luckily for her though, he had been stupid enough to leave the door open and someone had heard her telling him to get off of her. He had come in, pulled the drunken boy off of her and led her out of the room. She could barely tell what was going on anymore, but she was aware that now another guy was holding onto her, his arm around her waist, and he was leading her somewhere else. A moment later, they walked into another room, and even in her drunken haze, she noticed that, unlike the one before, this was a single room. Her mind registered that first years weren't allowed to have their own room, so he must have been older, and the only older students there were those in charge of orientation. According to the complaining from the girls' in charge of her house, they weren't allowed to drink that week. The thought that he was sober comforted her a bit.

Her constant thoughts suddenly lurched to a stop as she felt nausea pass through her small body. She tried to stop herself from throwing up in this boy's room, but she didn't think she could hold it in. She couldn't remember him making her sit on his bed, but she did remember him sitting beside her with a bucket and holding her hair back as she threw up in it. She couldn't remember anything after that.

She had woken up the next morning feeling sick to her stomach and not sure where she was. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was not in her room, let alone in her own dorm house. She slowly recognized it as a guy's room, and shot up in panic, but her stomach hadn't agreed with her and she almost threw up all over the blankets that were over her. Luckily for her, again, the young man was there to save her, or his blanket in this case. He gave her the bucket again (which turned out to be his garbage can) and sat beside her as she threw up in it. Once she was done, he set the bucket aside and rubbed her back as she let out small sobs. She was so embarrassed with herself. She probably looked horrible, she was in a guy's room that she didn't know, and she was throwing up everywhere. Well, perhaps not everywhere, but she was still throwing up in his room.

Much to her shock, she heard him chuckle before asking, "You don't drink much, do you?"

"No," she admitted quietly, "I've never gotten drunk before, and I don't think I'll do it again."

He laughed again, and she found that she liked his laugh. It wasn't mocking and cruel, it was honest. She glanced up at him shyly, and felt her mouth go dry. He had spiky caramel brown hair, cerulean blue eyes (that seemed a little familiar for some reason), tanned skin and a large smile. She couldn't help but find him handsome on sight, and the hormonal part of her almost wished that he had taken advantage of her the night before. She quickly shrugged that thought off, because she was a good girl and good girls didn't have sex with guys that they didn't know. No, they waited for marriage.

"Don't completely throw out going on the occasional pub crawl or something," he said to her happily, breaking her from her thoughts. "No one's going to make you drink more than your comfortable with. You can just go to hang out with people and have fun."

Kairi nodded her head, listening to his every word but barely hearing them. She loved his voice, but he was so attractive that she couldn't help but focus on that. That's when it occurred to her: he had been the one to take her out of that other guy's room last night. Her face flared with an embarrassed flush. He must have thought she was some kind of whore.

He tilted his head curiously as her sudden change in expression, and she was nearly positive that he had to be a mind reader when he asked, "Are you okay? Did that guy hurt you?"

She blushed a bit and said, "No, I guess I'm just—"

"Embarrassed?" he finished for her. "Don't be. We call that guy Corndog. Don't ask why, we don't know why he chose that name. Well, we do, but I'd rather not explain that. Anyway, he made it his goal to try and sleep with as many girls as possible this year. You're about the third one that he's tried it on this week, and the only one to walk away from him. You have nothing to be embarrassed of because you walked away."

"Or was led away by you," she muttered. She couldn't help but smile when he laughed again.

"My name's Sora Keys," he said to her. "I'm going in my third year. I'm assuming you're a frosh, but what's your name?"

"My name's Kairi Hart," she answered shyly. Suddenly, his last name and his eye colour snapped together in her mind. She tilted her head curiously and asked, "Are you related to Xion Keys? She's my roommate."

"Small world," Sora said. "Xion's my baby sister. At least I know where I need to take you." He stood up and held out his hand to her. She flushed and took it, smiling shyly as he helped her up. He smiled a bit as she raked her hands through her hair self-consciously and he quickly snatched up one of his large hoodies with his name written on the sleeve and his house symbol on the back. Holding it out to her, he said, "It's a little cold out now cause it poured last night after you passed out. Put this on and I'll walk you back to your dorm. It's too early for anyone else to be up yet, especially after last night."

She reluctantly pulled his sweater on, pulling up the hood to hide her messy hair. He grabbed his keys to his room before grabbing her hand and leading her out of his dorm.

Kairi expected the walk back to her room to be quiet and awkward, but Sora refused to allow that to happen. He talked to her animatedly, as if speaking to a friend that he hadn't seen in a long time. He never once let go of her hand, and the blush never once left her face. She found out that he was 20 and would be turning 21 in January, and he hadn't left her alone until she told him that she was 18 and her birthday was in May. She found out that he was a native to Destiny Islands, and he found out that she was from Radiant Garden, but would rather not go back there.

Finally, they reached Kairi's dorm and she fished her keys out of the pocket of her skirt. She fumbled with the door and when she finally got it open, he put his hand on hers. She looked up at him, flushing brightly as he stared at her intently.

"So," Sora started, "I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for breakfast later?" It was the first day that they didn't have to be up early to go with their housemates to breakfast before rushing around to do different activities. Kairi blushed a bit at his request, so he continued talking, "I did save you last night, after all. You could just repay me the favour."

"Okay," she said shyly.

"Great," he replied happily, "oh, and you can bring Xion with you too. You seem like a shy girl, so I don't want to make you uncomfortable, and having a person in common in there should help. I'll stop by at about nine to get you, okay?"

She nodded before asking, "Sora? Why are you being so nice to me? I thought most people would be annoyed with a girl that they had to take care of."

"I dunno," he answered honestly, "I guess it's just because I find you interesting." With that he turned and walked back towards his dorm, a bit more of a spring to his steps than before.

Xion, as it turned out, was very encouraging of Kairi's friendship with her brother. She explained that Sora hadn't had a good time in high school, always known as a 'special kid' because he smiled so much and was always happy. He was a bit of a goof-ball, and while he enjoyed running and playing sports in his free time, he showed no interest in actually participating in any sort of teams. The one thing that he had always loved was the ocean, according to Xion. Kairi had pointed out that they were on a tropical island, liking the ocean was probably required. Xion had simply said that some people didn't like it. Besides, she reasoned, their family lived on a different island that wasn't quite as busy as the one they were on now, so the people who lived on this island didn't really know what it was like to see the real ocean.

Kairi and Xion met up with Sora for breakfast, and again for lunch and supper. Soon, Kairi found herself spending time with him without Xion there. She learned that he was working towards being a Marine Biologist. He was a bit embarrassed to admit that his father, who had quite a bit of money, was working on getting him into the Marine Wildlife Institute at home as an assistant or an intern, but he planned on proving that he wasn't just a rich-man's son. Though he introduced himself as going into his third year, he was actually farther ahead than that. He worked tirelessly towards his degree, taking spring and summer courses on top of the normal ones. Kairi was fascinated by his knowledge and his love for the creatures that lived below the water's surface. She was fascinated by him. She admitted that she'd love to be a teacher, specifically for elementary school students. She blushingly admitted that she loved children.

She found that she was becoming happier the more time she spent with Xion and Sora, specifically Sora. Xion didn't find it weird at all that her older brother was becoming so close to her friend. Actually, unless Kairi was mistaken, the raven-haired girl had made several attempts to push them together. It was only during one night when Xion was a little tipsy that Kairi managed to get her to admit that she thought Kairi would be good for her brother. The last time he had an actual girlfriend was when he was eighteen and he was pretty torn apart when she cheated on him. He didn't trust many people after that, and he threw himself into his work. She also admitted that she thinks Sora would be good for Kairi because she smiles a lot around him, and that's important.

So when Sora casually asked her to go to the movies, just the two of them, she accepted. It was nothing special, and he didn't call it a date, but she spent hours choosing her clothes, fixing her makeup and making sure that her hair was perfect. She went to grab her sweater, but her other new friend, Ariel, took it back, saying that if it got a little colder it would give her an excuse to cuddle up to him. She was nervous, that much was for sure, but she was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. She had gone on a few dates in high school, but always with people of her parents choosing. Now, when her parents called, she made it seem as if she had come to a nunnery when it was almost the exact opposite. So as far as they knew, there wasn't a boy in her life in any way, shape or form.

She had no clue that Sora had a car before then. They had always walked to do everything, but in all fairness, they usually stayed on campus or stuck close to it. He had been so polite, opening the car door for her, gently putting his hand on her back to lead her around the unfamiliar theater and so on. He paid for her ticket, and insisted that she definitely needed some snacks when she protested, because she didn't need to watch her figure. He let her choose the movie, and she could tell that he was pleasantly surprised when she chose to watch the newest action movie out, admitting that she didn't like chick flicks all that much. She loved thrillers, but there were no good ones out.

It was comfortable, sitting with him in the theater. Sure, he was two years older than her, but she really didn't care. Her mother would have scolded her for it, but than again, her mother was almost ten years younger than her father, so what right did she have?

Somewhere along the line, even though it wasn't a romantic comedy, a tearjerker, or even a horror flick, Sora ended up sliding his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. There was an armrest between the two, but it had Kairi's drink in it so he didn't yank it up. Besides, it acted as a barrier from making her too uncomfortable.

After the movie they had just gone for a drive, going nowhere in particular. Kairi was very nervous, because even though she had gone on a few dates in the past, none of them had ever gone this smoothly. She never had a first real kiss, even though some of the guys her parents chose for her had forced their lips on to hers, but she had backed off quickly enough. Sure, she had been kissed, but never once had she kissed someone back. She also knew that somewhere out there was the unwritten rule (actually, it probably was written down now thanks to the internet) of never kissing on a first date. Still, she found herself drawn towards Sora in a way that had never happened before with anyone else. She felt her heart fluttering when she was around him, and she constantly felt like blushing. She wasn't sure what the feeling was, but she was sure that it was the reason she let him kiss her on the first date. She was also sure that it was the reason she had said yes when he asked her to be his girlfriend.

Xion seemed very happy for both her brother and her friend. She cooed that the two of them were made for each other. He was slowly bringing her out of her protective shell, and she was slowly mending his heart that had been broken so long ago.

They had their fights, goodness knows that they did, but it wasn't until Sora mentioned maybe meeting her family sometime that they had a huge row with each other in his little dorm room. He accused her of being embarrassed of him and she accused him of not understanding before she stormed out. They never broke up, but they refused to talk to each other for almost a week until Xion poked her nose into business that wasn't hers again (although she claimed it was, because both her brother and roommate were miserable). She found out exactly what happened and made it her goal to fix the misunderstanding. In Xion-terms, this meant that she tricked Sora into coming to her dorm to help her get something out of one of the closets that she couldn't carry on her own, and then shoved both of them in there. She had sat in front of the door, telling them to talk and then she would let them out and warding off any curious onlookers.

Kairi felt like Sora's cerulean blue eyes were staring straight into her soul as she stood with her back as close to the wall as she could get it. It didn't help that the closet was so damn small that even though she was trying to push herself against the wall, she still brushed up against him at the smallest movement. Seriously, this type of thing didn't really happen in real life unless you were friends with Xion Keys.

"Why don't you want me to meet your parents?" Sora asked her softly. It was after Christmas now, and while she had given Sora her cellphone number to text her, she never answered his calls when she was in the presence of her family, and she never gave him her home number as well. He admitted that it felt like he was just a university-fling for her, something that's never mentioned at home.

Tears welded up in her eyes and she shook her head while saying, "It's not that at all. I'm, definitely not embarrassed for my parents to meet you. Not at all. I just—I—"

"Yeah?" he pushed on, placing his hands on her thin waist.

"I'm embarrassed for you to meet them!" she blurted out, blushing deeply.

Sora seemed stunned at this revelation and he couldn't help but ask why.

Kairi had to take several deep breaths as she explained, "My mother comes from a family with money. She thinks that we're all better than anyone else, so she only thinks that rich, pompous asses are the ones worthy of dating her only daughter. All through high school she chose who I could date, what I could wear, and how I could act. Most people saw me as the snob that she wanted me to be. My dad, well, he's rarely ever around and is a pompous jerk. Above all that is my grandmother. She's the worst one of them all. If you're not up to her standards she automatically gets rid of you. My brother, Lea for instance. He was a bit of a pyro, so she had him committed to an insane asylum claiming that he tried to set her house on fire! It wasn't even true! My cousin, Naminé is like the only other normal one, and she got disowned because she decided that she wanted to be an artist and not go into business! I don't want you to ever have to meet these insane people."

Tears were now streaking down Kairi's face and he held her close to him, gently trying to calm her down by running his hand through her long hair. He kissed her on the forehead and said, "They can't be that bad baby. I mean, you aren't that bad."

"Neither was Lea or Naminé," she replied. "Reno was the smart one. He and Lea were twins. He took off the second he turned eighteen and we never saw him again. Lea stuck around for a bit and ended up in a nut house."

"So that's what you're trying to do? Just vanish from their lives?" Sora wondered. At her nod, he pulled her closer to him and said, "I'll find a way to get you away from them, if that's what you really want. It may take some time though."

All was forgiven, although Sora did show some dislike towards Kairi's family on the sheer basis that they made her feel so uncomfortable from then on.

Kairi was almost heart broken to be away from him over the summer, but Sora devised a plan. He would have Xion call her, and then switch the phone over to him. They kept up with each other through emails, texting and phone calls, but it wasn't the same. Kairi longed to be beside him, to be able to cuddle up next to him and share sweet kisses. She knew that, even though he had a summer job with the local aquarium thanks to his father while he took a few more classes, he would easily skip town and come to visit if it wasn't for her family. It was during this separation that it hit her, that everything every thing clicked into place. For a girl who thought that she would be trapped in the world her parents wanted her to be in, everything had changed so fast in ways she had never expected. She realized that she was in love with him, and as soon as she realized it, she called him (even though it was six in the morning where she was and four in the morning where he was) and told him that she loved him.

It was at six in the morning her time and four in the morning his time that he asked her to move in with him. He was getting an apartment this year and wanted her to be with him at all times. She admitted that she would have loved to, but her parents would never approve and they would find out. This was where Xion came in again. Xion was actually going to move in with her boyfriend, Riku (they had been dating on and off since high school), so for the first week or so Xion could pretend to be her roommate and Sora would hang at Riku's apartment. The two boys were friends, Kairi knew this already, and while Sora was protective of his little sister he was still best friends with Riku and gave him the benefit of the doubt regarding Xion.

Surprisingly enough, her parents thought it was an excellent idea. She later found out that they just didn't think she should be mingling with all of the 'drunk whores' that apparently lived in the university's dorms. The plan went off without a hitch.

When her parents met Xion, Kairi had to force herself not to laugh. The girl was dressed up in a dress suit, looking a lot like a lawyer, and had been exceedingly polite. Her parents highly approved of this fake Xion. They left quicker than Kairi expected, and Xion was back in her jeans and her hoodies quick enough. They didn't have to wait a week to switch apartments, so Sora and Xion switched that night.

Kairi was ecstatic to be in Sora's arms again. She never wanted to let him go again. It was different telling him that she loved him face to face as opposed to over the phone, and it was different hearing him say it back while seeing the sincerity and love in his eyes. He took her out to dinner that night at a fancy restaurant where she dressed up in a beautiful dress and he wore a tie, even if he hated them. That was the night, nearly a year after they started dating, that they were intimate together. Sure, they had gotten close to the act several times before, but never once had they done the did itself. In retrospect, she was a little surprised that Sora hadn't pushed for real sex earlier, he was only a young man after all, but she was glad that he didn't until she was a hundred percent sure that she was ready. She didn't care about waiting for marriage, all she cared about was him.

They did have fights, usually on the nights one of them had to stay at work longer or about money, but now they had a new way of making up. Whenever she felt his bare skin brush against her own, his lips trail from her neck downwards, or the pure pleasure that passed through her when they made love, she often wondered why people found the act disgusting or wrong. She supposed that it was different, because she was in love with Sora, and it wasn't just a random one-night stand.

She couldn't help but notice that when she went to the store and bought condoms once, and later on birth control pills, that she got disgusted looks from some of the older women and odd ones from the younger girls. She had wondered why for the longest time, because she was an adult and they had no right to judge her.

Sora pointed out that she looked a little younger than she really was, having the air of an innocent teenager about her. Kairi didn't really like this revelation and decided to change it. She didn't want to be slutty, but she didn't want to look like a girl who would cringe if someone swore around her. Her shirts became a little bit lower cut (they were much less constraining around her neck, she quickly realized), her skirts and shorts a little shorter (Sora always did say that she had nice legs), her clothes in general became a little more form fitting and classier, and she started wearing a little more make up, but not enough to make her look trashy. The biggest change was when she cut her hair, which had been nearly to her waist all her life, off to her shoulders and got it styled differently. It made her look a little older and more mature.

She had gotten her makeover done on a weekend that she had off but Sora had to work. She had pulled on a short pink dress with zippers on the front and a while camisole just before he came home. She only emerged from their room when she heard him in the kitchen.

Sora had nearly spit his drink out of his nose when she came out of her room with her makeover, looking happier with herself than she ever had. Sora assured her that he loved her no matter what she looked like, and she assured him that she couldn't blame him if he liked her new look more, because she did too. She pointed out that now he didn't have to have sex with a girl who looked like she was going to cry if someone said the word 'penis' around her.

When she made love to him that night, it felt different for some reason. It could have been because her long hair normally stuck to her body uncomfortably with her sweat, or because Sora certainly seemed much more into it than normal (she knew that she was right about him holding back because she looked so young and innocent), but she had a feeling that it had to do with the fact that she was so much more comfortable with herself. She was turning into the person she wanted to be, not who her parents wanted her to be. In the end, though some of her friends has accused Sora of changing her, she realized that she had changed mostly for herself.

When a long weekend came up for Destiny Islands, Sora asked her to come home with him and meet his family. She was nervous, but she went with him, Xion and Riku anyway.

She quite liked Riku when she met him the year before. He was Sora's best friend since they were just little kids, and a year older than the brunet, but that didn't stop him from dating Xion. Sometimes he could be very serious, other times he loved to joke, but all in all he became a big brother to her. Sora often said that he could trust Riku with his girlfriend any day, and it was true. Riku would joke about stealing Kairi, or he would whistle at her and call her a hottie (especially after she gave herself a make over), or sometimes he would even give her a quick whack on the butt or something similar, but it was all in good fun. He had no interest in perusing Sora's girlfriend in anyway, shape, or form. Both she and Sora knew that, and it was the only reason he got away with what he did.

Kairi was nervous about meeting Sora's family, and he seemed nervous about her meeting them as well. All three of them warned her that Sora's family was borderline insane. His father was eccentric, and he wasn't a businessman like Kairi was expecting when she had heard that Sora's family had money. No, he was actually the inventor of the holo-vision and the holo-theatre. She got to see the early prototypes of the holo-computer as well. In a way, he reminded her of a mad scientist, but it might have been because he purposely acted like one from time to time. He was rather random, kind of like Xion, but aside from his inventions, he was rather cheap. He had grown up in a lower-income home, and had made his way up to the top on his own, encouraging his children to do the same even though they had the advantage of more money. Kairi could now see why Sora and Xion never seemed to flaunt any money and had jobs, because if they tried to run to daddy for anything he would just snort, laugh, and pretend that they were part of his next experiment.

Sora's mother, Ayame Keys, was definitely a more serious woman in comparison, but in all fairness, when Kairi first arrived she was on the phone arguing with a print shop about her latest design. She was being sharp and strict in her directions, since she didn't want the entire marketing campaign that she was in charge of to mess up because of a printing error. Kairi had heard her yelling something about a four-fold brochure with a die-cut, double sided, on glossy 40-ounce paper and CMYK while the book that was being printed needed to be printed with spot colour. All this went right over Kairi's head and Sora had to explain that she was a designer for a marketing firm. When she was off the phone though, she was a sweet woman. Kairi also had to smile at the fact that the woman collected Disney memorabilia, including all of the movies to date.

His grandmother, Saika Keys, had more energy than anyone Kairi had ever met. The old woman was a widow, but she didn't let that bring her down. She was very opinionated, and despite the fact that she was already eighty, they all joked that she was going to live forever. She was Raiden's mother, and lived with them because she was deemed too old to live on her own but she refused to go into a retirement home. Many times Kairi had to laugh at how she acted as if Raiden was simply 'wooing' Sora's mother and constantly gave him advice on how to treat a lady. He always joked that he was going to put her in a home. She always joked that he was getting cut out of her will.

Kairi got to meet Sora's older brother Zack and his wife Aerith. Zack was a soldier, but he was like his brother and sister with his smile and his good humor. Aerith ran a flower shop and was a very kind woman.

Then there was Sora's oldest cousin, Cloud, and his girlfriend Tifa. Tifa was an amazing fighter, and she tried her hardest to bring out the best in Cloud. They had adopted a boy named Denzel, and often watched over a girl named Marlene who was a friend's daughter. Cloud was a very serious man who was also s soldier, and it was a huge joke amongst his younger brothers and their cousins that whenever Cloud smiled, god killed a kitten. What could they say? They were twisted.

Cloud's brothers were a year older than she was, and were identical twins. Their names were Ventus and Roxas Blade. Kairi had been confused at first, because Cloud's last name was Strife, but Sora explained that Cloud had a different father. They all got their looks from their mother, Raiden's sister, though. Ventus was much more easy-going than his twin was. He made friends easily and reminded Kairi a lot of Sora personality-wise. Roxas was easily the more serious of the twins, but not to the extent that Cloud was. Kairi was a bit surprised that Sora and Roxas seemed closer than he was with Ven, but she never said anything about it.

The twins seemed to enjoy teasing her and Sora enough, but their mother, Rika, was always ready to give them a swift hit on the head with a rolled up newspaper. Kairi wasn't even sure why she always had a newspaper with her, but she did.

His entire family instantly made her feel welcome, but she had to blush when his grandmother gushed about how pretty she was. The old woman then admitted that they were skeptical about Sora moving in with his girlfriend, but now she saw it as a good thing. She had never seen Sora so happy. The old woman then said that she hoped they were using protection. Kairi had flushed and stuttered at that, but the old woman just laughed and said that her grandson was a handsome young man and she was a beautiful young woman, so if they weren't all over each other she would have to assume that they were just pretending to be together while secretly both being homosexual. Kairi had answered that they do use protection. His grandmother said that that was good, but, as much as she loved Denzel, she'd like to see some biological great-grandchildren soon and Zack and Cloud were getting nowhere with that. Sora was the oldest after them, so it was natural that he'd be the next she could rely on.

Kairi didn't want to insult Sora's family, but she was only young. She was nineteen, turning twenty in May, and here was an old lady asking her to give her grandchildren! While Kairi's heart was sure that Sora was the one she wanted to be with, the thought of actually having children frightened her at the time.

Kairi's year had ups and downs to it school-wise. She had been forced to take business courses by her parents, even though she had no interest in that. She wanted to be a teacher, not a secretary. She had to admit, seeing Sora's parents with their unique jobs inspired her to think about switching degrees without her parents knowing. Sora encouraged her to do what she felt was right, and she ended up transferring to the education degree instead.

As the year reached its end, Sora and Kairi both became extremely busy and had little time for each other. Kairi had known that Sora was ahead in his degree, but it wasn't until recently that she discovered just how far ahead he actually was. Sora had managed to complete his ungraduate degree and was already working on his Masters. On Destiny Islands, it took two years to get a Masters in Marine Biology, so he would be finishing that before she was even finished her ungraduate degree.

She realized that it meant that she was only going to be completing her third year of schooling while he would most likely move back to his home island where there was a possibly internship or assistant's job waiting for him. She would only be able to see him on the holidays because he would be so busy.

"That's not exactly accurate," Sora replied sheepishly when she confronted him about it. They were in a rather comfortable position with Kairi sitting on Sora's lap facing him, and to be honest, he hadn't thought that this conversation was coming this quickly.

"What? How isn't it accurate?" she demanded to know.

"Well, I know it's going to be a lot of work on my part, and that almost isn't fair to you. I'll always be busy, but I'm going to find a way to make sure we keep working. I was thinking that after I get my Masters that I could go on and get my PhD in Marine Biology."

Kairi's mouth had fallen open at this and she said, "You're PhD? That'll make you a doctor! Sora! If you want to, it's a great idea! You're like, crazy smart when it comes to science, not so much in every day life though." He ruffled her hair at this, causing her to whine and push his arm away. "How long will it take you?"

"Well, in some places it can take anywhere from four to six years, but that comes with a lot of extra stuff that's deemed useless here. So it takes three years, but already my councilor was saying that I could probably do it in two."

It was true, Sora was extraordinarily bright when it came to science, particularly biology, environment and zoology. Kairi found it more than amusing that he was so smart, but at the same time, he was so dense. Still, he was goofy and charming and she loved him to death. It would be a lot of work, sure knew that, but she would support him every step of the way.

"You are okay with it though, right?" Sora asked her suddenly. "Because it's going to be a lot of work and, Kairi, if I had to choose between you and this, I'd choose you any day. There's nothing you can say to change my mind about it." She opened her mouth to protest, but he placed a finger on her lips and asked, "Do you remember when I left you with Nannie for a while when we were home?" She nodded, vividly remembering that conversation. "Well, mom wanted to talk to me. She said that she was so proud that I was doing more than focusing on studying. She said that she was always worried about me, and how much I studied after…well, after high school. She was the one who pushed me to join my house orientation committee in my third year. It's the best thing she's ever done in my opinion. She said that she was always so worried about me because I never showed interest in dating anyone, and I quote 'not even other guys'. She told me that if I was as smart as I seemed to be, I would put as much effort behind keeping you as I would behind my career. And you know what? She's right. I don't want to let you go, ever."

The tears in Kairi's eyes spilled down her cheeks as she kissed him deeply. She had never known anyone who would push everything that they had worked for to the side for her. She decided then and there that she was going to do the same thing for him.

She called her parents the next day, still exhausted and lying in bed with Sora sleeping at her side, his naked body pressed against her own. She reached her mother and told her that she wanted to study more over the summer and to use the library and archives there so that she could get the most out of her education and stay at the top of the class. The entire thing was a lie, because she was not in the business program, she would not be studying but working in the small cafe down the road as a waitress, and she honestly didn't care.

Her mother, oddly enough, had asked her if she met anyone there, a boy, and Kairi had answered no. For a moment, Kairi hoped that her mother was going to be more open to her own decisions, but then she mentioned that Kairi should come home because there was a lovely young man named Ienzo that she'd like her to date. Kairi felt disgust run through her as she realized that her mother didn't say 'to meet' but 'to date'. Who did the woman think she was? Kairi refused, saying that she'd like to focus on her studies, and her mother warned her about becoming an old, barren maid with no children.

Kairi was about to point out that she was older when she had Lea and Reno, let alone her, but they were taboo to talk about. She didn't get the chance to anyway, because Sora was awake and could hear her mother growling at her. She wasn't quite sure what he was thinking when he started kissing his way from her throat, down her bare skin to her lower body, all she could concentrate on was trying not to breathe too heavily or worse, moan with her mother on the phone.

Kairi managed to rush the conversation with her mother and hang up before she did anything embarrassing like start screaming. Sora often joked with her that she was proof that the quiet ones were the screamers, and she would just say that he wasn't getting laid for the rest of the month for that. It never lasted though.

Afterwards, she demanded to know why he did that while she was on the phone with the mother that didn't know that she was in a relationship, let alone living and having sex with her boyfriend. He had just grinned and said that he thought the irony that her mother was growling about her being an old maid while he was going down on her was just too funny. He was right, she decided later on; the irony of it was funny.

In the back of her mind, Kairi was kind of expecting something bad to happen in their relationship because it had been going almost too well. She was right. It came in a package of brown hair that flipped at the end, bright green eyes, very short yellow skirts, and it was named Selphie Tilmitt.

The girl was loud and obnoxious at the best of times, and worked with Kairi at the quaint little cafe as a waitress. Sora had come to visit her one day, and Selphie decided then and there that she had to have him. Kairi tried to tell her that he was her boyfriend, but the young woman (who was a year younger than she was) just started flirting with him, ignoring her. Sora ignored the girl and kissed Kairi right in front of her. From then on, Selphie was her self-proclaimed rival, determined to have him for herself.

Sora told Kairi one night that he thought 'the Selphie girl' was too young, and he didn't really like her personality. She was good looking, he admitted after Kairi prodded him about it, but she reminded him a lot of the girlfriend from high school that cheated on him. Plus, he had perfection anyway, so why would he want her?

Kairi was very comfortable in her relationship with Sora. So when Riku threw a huge party at a random house (Riku stuck around because he was pursuing a Masters like Sora was, but he actually had gone through all fours years of university before doing that) during the first week of May, and she saw Selphie kissing Sora, she didn't do the immature, stereotypical high school girl thing and run away crying. She was not going to be one of those girls who were so dramatic that they wouldn't let anyone explain anything to them and just assumed that the boy was lying. No, instead of running away, she waited and watched as Sora pushed Selphie away before storming over and ripping into the girl. Really, if that was all it took to tear apart someone who claimed to be in love with someone else, than it wasn't love.

She was a quiet girl naturally, but she tore right into Selphie. Selphie was shocked that Kairi didn't automatically dump Sora, but Kairi was quick to tell her off.

"This is real life bitch, not some sort of stereotypical high school drama. In real life people are rational, and they think, and life isn't just problems all over the place," Kairi snarled at her. Selphie had said something back that she couldn't remember, but it had been bad enough to make her so angry that she punched her in the face. She didn't slap her, but punched her. The only girl Kairi really hung out with anymore was Xion, and the rest were boys (like Sora, Riku, and a few of their friends like Tidus and Wakka), and Xion had grown up with only boys, being the only female cousin, so both of them learned how to deal with certain things in more stereotypical 'masculine' ways. Besides, if Kairi was going to fight a little girlier, she was going to use her nails that she spent so much time on and not the palm of her hand. Those would definitely leave a mark on Selphie tanned skin.

Sora had thrown her over his shoulder and took her away from Selphie. He didn't try to scold her for fighting or anything, instead choosing to thank her for not overreacting. He also assured her that she was a much better kisser, and that Selphie reminded him of the time he was playing with the vacuum cleaner as a child and got his mouth stuck in it. Kairi had laughed and said she was going to ask his mother about it.

The year before, Kairi had gone home in mid-April, so she never got to celebrate her birthday with him, yet they had celebrated two of his birthdays together, so he wanted to give her the best twentieth birthday ever. When she tried to weasel what they were going to do out of him, he had just sighed and dramatically said that they were going to stay in bed and have birthday sex all day long. Kairi had pouted and replied that while there had better damn well be good birthday sex later that night, but she wanted to do something else. It was an important birthday, because the word 'teen' was no longer on her name anymore. At the same time though, she had requested no party that night. They could have a get-together with their friends some other time, but she just wanted to celebrate it with him.

When Kairi woke up in the morning, she had been alarmed to smell food cooking. Sora tended to burn things more than anything when he was on his own, but if she was with him to constantly supervise the food he was cooking (nay, torturing), it turned out decently, even though she as no gourmet chef herself. She shot out of the bed that they shared and ended up tripping over the blanket and crashing into the wall opposite of the door. Sora appeared a second later, looking very confused before laughter escaped his lips and he helped her up.

"You were supposed to stay in bed," he said with a pout. "That way I could bring you breakfast in bed."

Kairi sighed and said, "That's sweet Sora, but I'm willing to bet that even the yoghurt would be crispy."

"You don't cook yoghurt though," Sora replied with confusion. "Come to think of it, we don't even have any."

"And it would still be crispy," she repeated. He shot her a mock angry glare before dramatically storming off saying that she didn't appreciate anything. They ended up making breakfast together, but Sora forced Kairi to sit down while he served her first. Really, it was the thought that counted, and she really did appreciate it.

She chose to have a bubble bath that day, deciding that she should be allowed to spoil herself on her own birthday. After the water became cold, she got out instead of refilling it and chose to wander around the house with only her fluffy robe on instead of actually getting dressed right away. Given how short the robe was, Sora definitely approved. He admitted that he didn't really have anything planned until later that night, but there was a market going on down by the waterfront if she wanted to go.

The jewelry and other things that were being sold at the market had fascinated Kairi. Everything was homemade, from the food, to the clothes, to the weapons, to the jewelry, and all of the small trinkets. Kairi stated that she wanted to try to make her own seashell jewelry, and Sora laughed saying that she was becoming a true island girl. Her first piece of shell art ended up being a five-pointed star made from shells that had a Sora-like face drawn onto it. She gave it to him and made him promise that he'd never lose it, and if something happened and they were separated, he would have to find his way back to her in order to give it back, bringing him to her in general. She called it their oathkeeper.

At the market, they bought some homemade orange, pineapple and strawberry jams as well as some freshly baked cookies and bread. Sora offered to get her anything else she wanted, but she said that it was alright, unless he didn't already have a present for her. Luckily he did.

When they returned home there was something new sitting on the counter that wasn't there when they had left. Sora admitted that he had given his key to Xion so that she could put that there after Sora took her out. There were several boxes, all wrapped up the same. Before Kairi could go and open them though, Sora pulled a strawberry cheesecake out of the fridge and she wasn't quite sure whether to eat the cheesecake then and there or pull Sora to their room and reward him for getting her strawberry cheesecake. She positively adored it, but because they were on an island good strawberries weren't around at all times of year so they stocked up on things like jam when they were around. The fact that he got her strawberry cheesecake (because she loved cheesecake) just made her entire day. Kairi was happily distracted by the dessert and wished that she could savor it forever, but there were still things to do. So after a large slice of the cake and assurance that Sora would not get up that night and eat the rest, she went to her presents.

The first one was from his parents and turned out to be a beautiful, midnight blue dress that that shimmered in the light. It was strapless and went down to just above her knees, the top tight and the skirt flowing. The other presents were from Riku and Xion. From Xion, she received the makeup that she had been eying, and from Riku it was a pair of strappy heels to match her dress. The sad part about Riku's present was that she was sure he had picked them out himself. He was one hundred percent straight, but he had amazing taste in clothes and had a good eye for what looked good on people and what didn't. There was also one labeled from Roxas and Ven, so Sora was skeptical of that one. He knew what everyone else got her, but not them. Needless to say, the fact that they got her handcuffs and various other toys and creams with a note that said 'have too much fun' definitely embarrassed him. Kairi took it in strides though, having grown used to his cousins now, especially when they visited for the spring break that had passed. She pointed out that at least they got her a gift. She also assured Sora that they could (nay, would) severely embarrass the two of them on their birthday as well.

Sora told her that, aside from that, it had all been planned. They were going to go to Tiana's Place, which was a large chain of expensive restaurants that originated somewhere in a place called New Orleans. It was not only very difficult to get in to, but it was very expensive and one of the hottest tickets in town. Kairi thought he was joking, but he assured her that they had reservations there for 6:30.

Her present from Sora had been stunning, needless to say. He said that it was to make up for missing her birthday last year. It was a white gold necklace that had the tiny chain links shaped a small hearts, and a pendant on the end with the outline of a heart that curled in on the top and a small crown. There were diamonds lining it, and he had got her earrings to match. It was a rather simply looking necklace, but it left her speechless. She swore that she would never take it off.

Kairi was positive that she was the luckiest girl in the entire world. The food had been amazing, and Sora had even got up to dance with her even though both of them had two left feet. They must have looked so awkward watching their feet while dancing, or stumbling with style as he liked to call it, but she didn't even care. He had even put on a tie for her. There was nothing that could go wrong, she was sure of it.

Before entering their apartment, Kairi kissed him deeply, and Sora was sure that she fully intended on starting the rest of their night right then and there in the hallway when she wrapped her legs around his waist and he had to hold under her thighs to keep her up. Of course, as everyone knows, what goes up must come down (aside from Sora's hair, Kairi noted as Issac Newton rolled in his grave). Of all the times her parents actually seemed to really give a damn about her and not just their public image, they had come to visit her on her birthday, only to see her making out with a young man they had never even heard of before, with a makeover that was completely different from before.

Needless to say, they had freaked. That was when every little lie that Kairi had told them came tumbling out. She wasn't taking business, she was pursuing education; Xion wasn't her roommate, Sora was; she got her makeover because she was sick of the looking like a completely innocent little teenager and she wanted to look like a young woman who could go out looking nice, or in sweats, or could pull off being sexy when she wanted to. Most importantly, she was dating Sora because she loved him but she was embarrassed for him to meet them.

Her mother said that she looked like a hussy, and her father said that she was coming home with them and going to the University of Radiant Garden. Kairi refused, pointing out that she was twenty now and could do what she wanted. Her father grabbed her arm to try and yank her out the door by force, but that was a mistake. Sora pried the man's grip off of her and held her close, telling them that they could go to hell.

Her mother said that he was just going to use her for sex and once he got her into bed he was going to leave her. Kairi was angry enough by that point to say that it wasn't true at all because she was already sleeping with him on a regular basis. Her parents were yelling, and Kairi was yelling back. She made it quite clear that she was not leaving Sora, she was not going with them, and that she would do what she wanted. They made it quite clear that if she stayed with such a 'bad influence', she would not be getting a penny from them for school. Kairi chose and decided she'd rather pay off student loans for years than go back with them. Her mother slapped her and Sora nearly exploded with rage. He forced them to get out and warned them to never come back again. Kairi was sobbing and seething at the same time, saying that they ruined everything. Sora tried to sooth her and suggested getting some rest early, but she refused. She wanted to take out her anger on something, so she said that she was going to have her amazing birthday sex even if she had to use the handcuffs Roxas and Ven gave her to hold him down.

When she checked her bank account, she found that her parents had indeed closed the one that they had set up for her, but she had her own account that she was putting her pay cheques in, just in case.

Her life had changed so much from what it used to be in high school. She was confident in herself, she was in a relationship that others were jealous of, and she was on her own. It was a little frightening in a way, but at the same time it was what she had wanted all along.

Was Kairi a believer in destiny? She was starting to think that she was after everything that happened. After all, what we're the odds that the person who stopped her from being raped during her first university party would turn out to not only be her roommate's brother, but also the person she was positive that she wanted to spend her life with? Yes, Kairi decided, she did believe in destiny, and while she was sure that things were going to get difficult, she was sure that she could survive through everything with Sora at her side.

Author's Note

I decided to write this because, like when I was writing Shadows of Beginnings, there' not much fluff in that and it drives me nuts, so I wrote a short, fluffy thing.

This has two more chapters with it. Only two more.

Yes, my Sora in this is very smart. At the same time though, he's still loveable and very dense. He says the right things to Kairi, but he fails mostly with other people. So he just chooses to smile a lot cause he's happy.

And yes, it IS possible to get an undergrad degree, a Masters and a PhD at a very young age. It takes an insane amount of work, and is most of the time associate with being a genius in some respect (Bones, anyone?), but it's possible. I researched it, specifically for Marine Biology.

Hell, my great uncle graduated from university when he was 18. Yeah, wrap your mind around that. Crazy guy can read, speak and write 20 or more languages. I really wish I had his brain at times. I'm smarter than average (not bragging, IQ tells me so! Ok bragging a little), but I am seriously blonde at times. Kinda based Sora off of me.

Oh, and his mother's spiel about design is totally accurate. I have a diploma in design, trust me on that. USE RGB AND 72 DPI FOR INTERNET IMAGES PEOPLE!

Actually, looking back over the entire thing, there are pieces of me and all of the people I know worked into all of the characters. Though none of the events actually happened to anyone I know, some things are loosely based on things that I've seen, heard and lived through. Example: The guys in our 'brother' house at my uni do indeed have competitions to see how many new girls from my house that they can sleep with. I had to take more than a few drunk girls away from there in Orientation Week.

Anyway, long author's note aside, I'll probably update this pretty fast.

Also, sorry for skipping tenses so many times. I tried to fix it but then I got bored and I was like 'no'. True story.

Krystal Lily Potter