"What in the world… how the fuck did all of you guys manage to tag along?" Sora deadpanned as he surveyed the group in front of him. His brain went back in time to remember what Kairi had said.

"Yeah, just you, me, and Namine."

He definitely felt awkward and uncomfortable the moment he realized that he was the only sore thumb sticking out—was he going to meet her parents already like this? They would definitely be suspicious of him if he was the only person—the only guy—that the two sisters brought back to the islands. He had given Kairi a strange look, but because she looked as normal as day, he didn't bother asking her what she thought about the whole ordeal.

Maybe telling her parents she had a boyfriend wasn't a big deal to her.

However, now that he saw his cousin and his two doofus friends with their own respective luggage at the airport, he wasn't sure which situation he liked better.

"Funny story," Kairi said with an awkward laugh. She had totally forgotten to tell Sora about what happened. Sora gave her a suspicious look.

"Do tell, do tell."

"I was video-calling my mom in the loud-area of the library," she started. "And then…"

"I popped in," Riku continued for her, a finger pointing at himself. "I had no clue she was on a video-call so I just popped right on in to say hi." When they both stopped explaining, Sora frowned.

"I'm not following."

"My mom insisted to bring him," Kairi finished. "She said that I—we," Kairi pointed between her and Namine, "could bring as many people as we want as long as they all fit in the two guest's rooms we have, so… She really wants to meet all my friends for some reason." Sora continued to give her a look, as if he wasn't buying it, before he looked at Axel."

"Doesn't explain you."

"Saw Riku packing. Asked him where he was going. Said you were going. What you think, man? This pack of awesomeness cannot be left behind—of course, I want to go too! It's alright, right, Kairi?" Kairi gave a sheepish thumbs up. Sora then looked at Roxas. He definitely didn't look like he wanted to be here but he was here anyway.

"And you?"

"It's called blackmail, my friend, blackmail," Axel answered for him with a devilish grin. "I can't leave my lover behind. Namine doesn't mind, right, Namine?" Namine gave Axel a confused look, clueless on why Axel was suddenly pointing her out, before giving a hesitant nod.

"I don't mind."

Sora rolled his eyes, understanding what this "blackmail" was, before admitting defeat. Inside, he kind of felt bad for Kairi—his friends just invited themselves to her place without really letting her have a say.

As long as she's okay with it.

"Don't blame me if your house catches on fire," Sora muttered to Kairi before he made his way towards the line for baggage check.

"I actually haven't gone on a plane for a while. Last time I did was when the family went on vacation to Radiant Garden," Kairi commented as she waited in line with everyone. "We usually go by ship."

"How's the weather in Destiny Islands though? Everyone always talks about how it's always the right temperature at any season of the year," Riku asked, truly curious. He had never been to Destiny Islands before.

"It's alright," Namine answered. "It's kind of biased though since people usually only visit in the summer. They don't get a taste of the true winter."

"True winter in Destiny Islands is nowhere near Twilight Town's," Sora muttered as he scrolled through his phone. "It could be fifty-degree weather and you'll still see people wearing shorts here." When no one responded to his comment, he looked up from his phone and instinctively backed away when everyone besides Roxas gave him weird stares. He cleared his throat. "What?"

"How would you know?" Kairi asked. "I thought you never visited Destiny Islands before." Sora tilted his head to the side slightly in wonder.

"I thought I told you before."

"Told me what?"

"I'm from Destiny Islands." Everyone ogled him like he was a freak show. "Why are you guys looking at me like that? I thought I told you. Riku, Axel, what the hell?"

"Dude, I thought you were from Radiant Garden!"

"Wait, I thought he was from Daybreak Town."

"…"

"I thought you were from Traverse Town?" Kairi joined in, utterly confused. Sora truly wondered whether his friends were actually his friends at all.

"Okay, I definitely remember telling you that I moved here when I was young," Sora explained, remembering their conversation back in December. Kairi nodded, remembering that part.

"But you said you were from Traverse Town."

"I lived there, but I was born in Destiny Islands. Moved to Traverse Town later in my early life. And then I moved to Twilight Town because of him," Sora pointed to Roxas. "Riku, Axel, I have no idea where you got Radiant Garden and Daybreak Town from. Thanks a lot."

"Sorry," the both of them said simultaneously.

"How come you never mentioned that?" Kairi asked, finding it a wonderful coincidence that the both of them were from Destiny Islands. "We could've related to so many things!" Sora shrugged once more—he wasn't particularly as interested as she was about this coincidence. He barely remembered his life back at Destiny Islands—a life when both his parents were still alive.

He didn't want to admit to her that everything was simply a blur to him.

"There was never an opportunity to mention it. Let's go, let's go, the line's moving."

They sat on the plane by pairs in three rows. Sora was about to sit next to Kairi—since that should be normal—but the moment he stepped on the plane, Riku and Axel dragged him away from the redhead and sat him next to Roxas, completely away from Kairi.

"What are you guys doing?" Sora complained. He watched as Namine confusingly sat next to Kairi. Riku and Axel sat in front of them, effectively blocking his view of Kairi.

"We gotta have a boys' talk," Axel said in his fake serious voice, turning around in his seat to face Roxas and Sora.

"And pronto," Riku said with a nod. Sora sighed; he already had a bad feeling.

"This is going to be a three-hour plane trip. Let him sit wherever he wants," Roxas tried to aid Sora, but this only made Riku and Axel smile wider.

"Indeed, it will be a three-hour plane trip. Tell me, Roxas, where would Sora want to sit?" Axel asked mischievously. Sora started to get the idea about where this was heading and simply leaned the side of his face on his propped hand, not amused.

"Excuse me?"

"Where do you think Sora wants to sit?" Riku rephrased for Axel. Not believing that it was a trick question, Roxas answered.

"Um, Kairi?"

Axel snapped his fingers and pointed at Roxas for a dramatic effect.

"And why do you think he wants to sit next to Kairi?" Finally understanding what they were doing, Roxas sighed and simply looked out the window of the airplane as people continued to sit and load their things.

"Sora, why didn't you tell us?" Riku whined. "I thought I was your best friend!"

"Tell you what?" Sora nonchalantly said, playing dumb. Riku exaggerated a sniff.

"That you and Kairi were together!"

Sora wasn't a vocal person about these things. It wasn't like he wanted to keep it a secret—he just didn't know how and when to say it. He thought it would be weird to just announce it out of nowhere when the subject was nowhere near his romantic life.

"Never found the chance to," he decided to answer truthfully. Then he became curious. "How'd you guys know we were together? Sounds like you guys knew for a while but didn't say anything." Axel crossed his arms.

"It's not as if I'm as blind as a bat or anything. Who do you take me for?"

"Right…" Roxas muttered underneath his breath. When the eyes turned to look at him, he turned his body more towards the window. He wasn't in the mood to talk about romance when he barely had any in the first place.

"Please, ever since Roxas's birthday banquet, the atmosphere between you two suddenly changed. I started to see pink and sparkles every time you guys were together—it was hideous," Riku said, mocking a gag as he put a finger in his mouth. Sora frowned—did they really acted different? He didn't think they acted any differently since they barely even had time to spend with each other because of all the ruckus.

"You lie."

"I do not! Acting all lovey-dovey, shooting secret flirty looks. I would know since I'm a pro."

"A pro who hasn't had a girlfriend this whole entire year," Axel hissed. "Where the girls at, Riku? Hm, hm? That's right—nowhere. I think you should cut that hair of yours. Get a fresh look instead of looking like an emo kid with his hair covering his eyes constantly." Riku defensively touched his long hair and glared at Riku.

"This is what the chicks dig, okay?"

"The 1980's look? We're in the twenty-third century, dude, twenty-third!"

"So you're saying your red hair gets all the ladies?"

Sora smiled a small smile as Axel and Riku bickered.

Things were slowly getting back to normal, including his friends and their issues with girls. He never thought he would ever miss these stupid and meaningless conversations.

"Axel, we're on a mission to probe Sora. We are digressing from the important issue! So, so?" Riku wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Sora, making him slightly uncomfortable. "When did you guys get together? How long, how long?"

"Who keeps count?" Sora muttered, trying to sound uncaring. Of course, he kept count, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"I don't think Kairi will appreciate that," Axel cooed. "Don't tell me don't know what your guys' anniversary date, do you?" Sora stifled a laugh, which irked the three of them.

"Oh, it's an easy one to remember. Not sure how comfortable Roxas will feel though," Sora snickered, giving a glance towards his cousin. The blonde confusingly pointed at himself.

"Me? What about me?"

"Remember your birthday banquet?"

"Who wouldn't?"

Sora just left it at that and allowed time for them to guess what he was hinting at. Riku was the first one who got since he was the one who left the two alone in the park that time.

"Holy shit, you guys got together right then and there? Bro, you're fast, aren't you!" Riku shook his head, as if Sora had just bested him. "You learn from the best, don't you? Should've known."

"Dude, honestly, shut up," Axel spat jokingly.

"B-birthday? Wait, you guys got together on my birthday? Oh gosh, now I feel weird," Roxas stuttered. "I definitely won't forget this…"

"And, and?" Axel probed even more.

"And what?" Sora responded irritably. Axel and Riku wiggled their eyebrows at the same time, creeping the hell out of Sora.

"Don't act dumb—how far have you guys gone?"

"Excuse me?" The wiggling of the eyebrows continued. When Sora realized what they were asking, he simply coughed and looked out the window with Roxas to avoid their observing gazes. However, he couldn't fight down the redness that tinted his cheeks slightly. When Axel and Riku leaned even closer over the seats, he had to push them away with his hands. "Stop, you guys are embarrassing me. Sit down already."

"Sora! Embarrassed! What has the world come to?"

As the four guys talked, Kairi and Namine were simply on their phones.

"So, how are you going to explain this?" Namine said, amusement lacing her words. Kairi paused on her activity with her phone to address her sister.

"Explain what?"

Namine signaled with a small motion of her head towards the packs of testosterones behind them and sighed when Riku and Axel could be heard bickering about stupid things again.

"Mom and Dad are going to get loads of fun. I don't think Dad is going to approve. No boys in college remember?" Namine reminded. Kairi simply rolled her eyes and returned her eyes back on her phone.

"You know, sometimes, they just need to be exposed. Give them a small shock and they'll just get used to it. They can't expect me to not find love in college," Kairi laughed. But Namine had a point—their parents were probably going to be surprised out of their wits when they see their two daughters bring four dudes back home. If Kairi was correct, her mom knew four people were coming, but she didn't know they were all guys. "It's okay, what's the worst they can do?"

~Four hours later~

"Tifa, are you alright?" Cloud asked out of concern when he saw his wife wobble slightly. Tifa put a hand over her forehead as she surveyed the view in front of her.

"Yes, dear, yes, I'm quite alright…" She fanned herself with a hand. "I'm okay, I am."

"Mom! Dad!" Kairi and Namine rushed towards their parents, leaving their suitcases behind as they engulfed both their parents in hugs. The last time they saw them was when they departed. They never did have the chance to go back for winter break.

"It's good to see you guys again too," Cloud said, but his attention was barely on them as he shot his stares at the four boys who were awkwardly standing by the sidelines. They too didn't seem to realize how bad and awkward it would be when they all met the parents.

"You guys sure made a lot of friends… and they're not girls," Tifa stated the obvious. She tried to laugh, but it came out as some strangled sound instead. Roxas was the first to step up and be polite.

"Hi, I'm Roxas Hikari. Thanks for letting us, uh, visit," he said with a smile. "Destiny Islands is a beautiful place." He was not just flattering them. Already, when they stepped foot off the plane and went outside the airport, the ocean breeze greeted them amiably. The blue of the sea seemed to surround the land at the outskirts no matter where they looked and palm trees stood high up in the sky. The sight amazed everyone besides Sora.

Sora tried not to show it, but he was reluctant to be back on the islands.

"I'm Axel," the flamehead said next. Kairi and Namine tried not to laugh at their parents' expressions at his red hair.

"I'm Riku."

"Ah, the boy I saw! Wow, you're taller than I thought," Tifa said, recognizing him very easily by the color of his hair. She then looked at his arms. "And more muscular too," she whispered to Kairi. Sora was the last one to introduce himself, and it took him a while too. It was Riku who nudged him with a shoulder and snapped him out of his daze.

"Hello, my name's Sora Hikari. Yeah, we're cousins," he said the last part when the parents gave a side glance at Roxas.

"Welcome to Destiny Islands. Hope you guys get to do a lot of things in this one week break," Tifa welcomed, her shock wearing away already. However, Kairi and Namine knew she was bound to ask them questions later.

"Dad, is something wrong?" Namine asked when she saw Cloud just continuing to observe the boys. He shook his head and managed a ghost of a smile at his daughter.

"Nothing. They just look kind of… familiar."

Kairi and Namine exchanged looks before softly giggling—their parents didn't seem to recognize the big shots yet.

The way back in the car was anything but rowdy compared to the plane trip. Everyone seemed to catch the drift that Kairi's and Namine's dad was a man of few words. He had a very intimidating aura too, so even Riku and Axel didn't dare to make any noise. It was Roxas again who even attempted to speak.

"Mister, uh…"

"Lockhart. Or Strife. Either works." Roxas blinked—which one was the correct one? Kairi mouthed "Lockhart." Strife was the last name of her grandfather, but because her grandparents were divorced, her dad took on the last name of her grandmother instead.

"Mr. Lockhart, correct me if I'm wrong, but do you work as a programmer for a military weapon organization?" Kairi and Namine could see their father's eyebrows shoot up in surprise before he answered.

"Why, yes. Yes, I do. Did my daughters tell you?" Roxas shook his head, but realizing that Cloud's eyes were on the road, he responded.

"No, I just, uh, heard things about you." Roxas definitely wouldn't feel comfortable if he just introduced himself as the son of the CEO of Keywielders and confess that he has heard about a Cloud before. "I just wanted to say that that's cool."

"Thanks," was Cloud's simple reply. Roxas didn't really have much left to say, so he just kept quiet for the rest of the trip.

"Is it me, or is your dad one of the scariest yet coolest guys I've ever seen in my life?" Riku whispered to Kairi from the back-back seat. "He's scarier though than cool."
"He means no harm," Kairi assured, finding it funny how the guys were just cowering behind the seats. "What happened to all the energy in the plane, though?"

"We got… tired."

"Sure…"

Kairi glanced at Sora, who sat next to her, and poked him on the arm to gain his attention. He lazily shot her a look back but looked away again when she failed to say anything. Kairi tried not to frown.

Sora was acting rather cold.

When they arrived back to the sisters' home, Kairi and Namine led the four boys to the two guest rooms. Since they didn't they expect for the whole crew to tag along, they had to split the rooms with each other.

"Which one do you think is Kairi's boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Cloud questioned his wife. "What do you mean?" Tifa hit her husband's shoulder playfully as they hung around in the kitchen.

"Namine doesn't seem to have a boy yet—I can just tell—but Kairi's different. So, which one, which one?"

"None."

"I think it's the silver-haired guy. They seem awfully close." As if on cue, Kairi and Riku walked out towards the kitchen to explore the house while the rest were still unpacking.

"You sure didn't pack a lot of clothes."

"Of course not, since I'm going to be half-naked most of the time."

"Pardon?"

"The beaches are where the ladies hang." Kairi rolled her eyes at Riku's playboy attitude and went to fetch herself a glass of water.

"This is a nice place," Riku said to her parents, hoping to make a better impression. Tifa smiled while Cloud just continued reading the newspaper in his hands.

"Thank you. Hope you guys feel at home for a week." Riku started to feel uncomfortable when Tifa started to analyze him from top to bottom before smiling wider at him. "Passable."

"Um, pardon?"

"Nothing, nothing! When you guys are done, why don't you guys go in the back," Tifa glanced at the clock on the wall, "It's a bit too late to go to the beach, but we actually have some fireworks to celebrate the recapture of Radiant Garden. Take some with you guys and light them up in our way-too-big backyard! You guys can all go to the beach tomorrow during the daytime."

"Will do, Mom."

Roxas and Axel came from their rooms and out into the kitchen too. For once, Axel was well-behaved as he waited for any activity they were going to do. When Kairi waved the pack of sparklers in her hand at the pyromaniac, his eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly.

"Where's Sora and Namine?" Axel rolled his eyes and jerked a thumb towards Namine's—well, it was Kairi's as well—room.

"They're having a geek moment inside. Namine has some sort of ultimate high-quality computer and Sora just has to check out for some reason," Axel explained. Kairi frowned, not quite believing Axel. She had noticed that Sora was quite distant the moment they landed, but she had thought that it was just a figment of her imagination.

Inside the room, Sora sat at the edge of Namine's bed while she leaned against a table.

"Are you scared or something?" she asked. Their "geek" moment lasted only a minute. Now, they were just in the room awkwardly as Sora, for some reason, didn't budge. Sora shot a glance at Namine before shaking his head and sighing.

"Feels awkward."

"Never knew Sora Hikari could feel…awkward." Namine honestly wasn't trying to insult him—she just really didn't expect it. "Aren't you usually confident? You're being quite meek right now." Sora never really talked to Namine, so having this type of talk with her felt strange. Considering the fact that they weren't really close, Sora didn't feel comfortable telling her what made him all fidgety besides meeting Kairi's parents.

"Feeling a bit under the weather," was what he settled for. Namine crossed her arms and gave him the "yeah, right" look before she made him stand up with a pull on his sleeve. Because his jacket was unzipped, it fell off of his shoulder to reveal the plain white T-shirt he had on.

"C'mon, let's go. It's no time to gloom around. After all, you have to make a good impression on my parents for Kairi, right?" She did not intend to sit there and console Sora.

"Wait, can't I just chill here a bit long—"

"No, c'mon." Sora reluctantly allowed Namine to drag him by the sleeve of his jacket and out towards the kitchen, where everyone was waiting for them. Sora roughly pulled his jacket back up his shoulder when Namine finally let him go. He could feel Kairi's observant stare as he looked somewhere not at her.

"So, you guys had a fun geek moment, huh?" she asked. Namine gave a thumbs up, a poker face plastered on.

"Yup—"

"—Sure," the both of them said simultaneously.

"So, what's the plan? What are we doing?" Namine asked with a smile. She was glad to be back home. Kairi waved the packet of sparklers in her hand once more and signaled towards the backyard.

"Gon' have some fiery fun. Shall we head out?"

Axel was the first to light the sparklers up five at a time, cackling rather evilly as the sparks flew wildly. They lit up the backyard as more and more sparklers were set on fire.

"I haven't played with these since I was a kid!" Riku laughed as he whipped it around in a circle.

"Fire hazard, Riku, fire hazard!" Kairi half-yelled, half-shouted as she pointed towards the plants by the side.

Inside, Tifa grinned while her husband continued to give the college kids an unamused look. He specifically glared at the silver-haired boy for being so close to his daughter.

"I'm telling you, hon, I'm telling you!"

"Not going to talk to Sora?" Riku suddenly asked. The mention of Sora made the smile on Kairi's face falter before it completely dropped. She heaved a huge depressed sigh before nodding.

"I don't know. He's suddenly quiet and cold. I think I'll feel super awkward if I go talk to him only to get shut down." Kairi remembered all the moments where he shut her away during the beginnings of their friendship—she didn't want to go down that road again. Riku took a short look at his best friend and simply shrugged.

"He's probably just nervous."

"You think so?"

"Sora's odd like that, so. He'll probably warm up to this environment soon, so give him some time." Kairi glumly nodded in agreement. She wanted to have fun with Sora every minute they were here, but she guessed she had to be patient. "I'm surprised you're not scared though."

"Of?"

"Your parents. You brazenly just brought your boyfriend home, along with three other dudes. Sorry about the last part though." Riku wiggled his eyebrows at her, earning a laugh from her. "You not afraid? Especially with your dad." Kairi shook her head. Remembering how things were with Vanitas, she didn't want to keep another relationship a secret. It would kill her, especially since it was Sora they were talking about.

"I'm kind of tired of hiding. Plus, Sora isn't a bad guy. Sure, they might be surprised, but I'm not ashamed of him or anything. I want them to know."

"How cute. Girlfriend proud of her boyfriend, huh?"

"Oh, just shut it."

From outside, Namine could see her mother looking at Riku inside, and she knew what kind of look that was from a mile away. She glanced over at Sora, who for some darn reason kept sticking by her side like some lost puppy. While Kairi was with Riku and Roxas with Axel, Sora decided to just stay with Namine—since they were both loners to some degree. She never knew Sora had this side of him as she shoved a sparkler at him that was way too close for comfort.

"What the—" Sora stopped himself from cursing as he threw daggers at Namine with his eyes. She returned the look.

"I feel like a mom whose son can't make friends," Namine exasperated as she waved her sparkler at him. "Stop sticking onto me and go talk to Kairi! Oh gosh, my mom is looking at me now. Shoo, shoo!"

"No, I feel uncomfortable—Namine, don't put that near me."

"Are you seriously going to do this?" Sora glumly looked at his sparkler which was dissipating rapidly.

"Do what?"

"You're going to make Kairi sad, you know." He finally looked up at Namine to see her with a disappointed expression. Sora suddenly felt the heavy weight of guilt on his chest when he thought about Kairi. "You know she wanted you to come so that she could spend time with you here in the islands, right?" Sora bit his bottom lip—he hadn't realized that. "It takes a lot of guts to just bring your boyfriend home. She's facing it head-on while you're just hiding away like this because it's out of your comfort zone."

"Well, it's not just that…"

"It doesn't matter. Sort it out with her instead of hiding from her. Dude, my mom thinks Riku is her boyfriend! Seriously, are you just going to let her think that?"

"Riku?" Sora asked, flabbergasted. Namine shook her head and shooed him with her hands.

"You're not making a good impression right now. Go!" Namine pushed him towards the direction of Kairi and Riku and gave him a reassuring smile. Sora sucked his lips in and hesitantly made his way towards Kairi. He wasn't sure what he would even say—he never realized how hard it was to talk to Kairi when it wasn't natural until now—but with the feeling of Namine's death stare on his back, he just moved forward.

"Hey, hey, lover boy is coming," Riku teased as he tapped his knee with Kairi's. At his words, Kairi looked to her right to see Sora walking over towards them. Her heart thumped as he got closer, and before she knew it, Riku left and Sora replaced him.

"Honey, oh my gosh, another boy just came. What was his name again, Sora?" Tifa squealed as she tapped her husband repeatedly so that he could look up. When he did, he simply frowned and sighed.

"Where have I seen this face before?"

"Hey," Sora muttered as he squatted down next to Kairi.

"Hi," she responded shyly back, suddenly interested in her sparkler.

"Don't look too closely at it or else it'll fling in your eyes or something," he lightly joked as he put a hand over hers and lowered the sparkler further away from her. "Something that probably would happen."
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Kairi asked defensively, earning a chuckle from him.

"Just means that I have to always look out for you," Sora's gaze filled with warmth as he directed his complete attention on her. Kairi smiled—she wouldn't mind that. Not one bit.

"Are you… feeling okay, though?" she finally asked, wondering what was wrong with him. Sora gave her a guilty look—he really did make her worry about him. He simply shook his head and replaced his guilt with a genuine smile.

"I wasn't feeling well, but I'm okay now," Sora looked at everyone. Axel chased Roxas with five sparklers in each hand while Namine giggled at a joke Riku told her. Sora tried not to laugh at their antics and looked back at Kairi. "I'll tell you about it later. For now, let's just have fun with everyone."

"Right!" she responded enthusiastically before she stood up. She motioned with a hand at Sora towards everyone. "Let's join everyone, shall we?" She then gave the hand out towards Sora. He looked at it for a moment before laughing.

"Yeah." And he took her hand to haul himself up.

~.~.~

"It's time to hit the beach! Hell yeah!" Riku shouted as he exited out of his guest room and went outside the hallway. He blinked when he realized no one was out yet.

"You're being too loud in someone else's house," Sora scolded as wore a jacket over his half-naked body. He made sure to zip it up. "Quiet down." With a hand, he felt his achy back and sighed.

Since there were only two guests rooms, the four boys had to split it. Roxas stayed with Axel while Sora was with Riku. One thing he learned was that Riku's future girlfriend will have a tough time sleeping with him later. The whole night, Sora kept waking up because Riku just kept kicking him for more space. As a result, he just slept on the floor—it was more peaceful that way. However, his back was killing him.

"Someone's excited," Roxas sounded as he stepped out of his room with Axel.

"Because he just wants to get laid already."

"Axel, shut up," Riku hissed. He felt the muscles at his arms and nodded enthusiastically to himself. "Yup, these guns are still intact. Good, good."

"Oh gosh, Riku's admiring himself again," came Kairi's voice as she exited out her room with Namine. Clad in a jacket and some shorts, the girls also seemed beach-ready. "Someone stop this narcissist."

"It's too late," Sora joked as Riku gave a kiss to his own arms. "He's too far gone."

"C'mon, c'mon, I'm dying to go to the beach. Destiny Island beaches I heard are the best," Riku urged as he ushered everyone out of the hallway. "No time to waste!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh," Kairi said as she felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her shorts. As everyone filed out of the hallway and towards the front door, Kairi stopped in her tracks, eyes reading the lines of texts that she just received. "Wait, wait, wait." Everyone stopped their movements at Kairi's command. Eyes glued on her phone for a moment, she sheepishly looked up to address everyone. Sora raised an eyebrow—that look didn't spell good news.

"What's wrong, Kairi?" Riku asked.

"Before we go, there's someone—"

Ding dong!

"Oh gosh."

"I'll get it!" Tifa sounded from the kitchen, and her footsteps were heard clambering towards the door. A quick silence passed through everyone for an instant as Tifa checked the peephole to see who it was. "Hm, why is Roxas outside all of a sudden?"

"Wait, I'm right here…" Roxas said next to everyone. "Wait a minute…"

As the door opened, Kairi swore her parents were going to faint.

"Wow, heyo!" a very familiar voice resonated within the house. Cloud's only expression were the widening of his eyes while Tifa rubbed her own eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. The gang had their mouths wide open as they stared at the blonde who smiled innocently at them. In his hand was the familiar Ultima Keyblade.

"A-are you that Keyblader I see on TV?" Tifa stuttered. Ventus gave a quick wave to everyone by the hallway before he turned his attention towards Tifa and smiled brightly.

"You know me too! Yes, I probably am! Ventus Airius, nice to meet you." Tifa dumbly held out her hand for Ventus to shake enthusiastically. Kairi really didn't understand how her parents could recognize Ventus, but not Roxas. They were literally twins.

"Ventus, what—how are you—why are you here?" Roxas stuttered, not believing the sight in front of him. The last time they even saw each other was before the Keyblade War even started. Sora himself was not spared by the shock as his mouth moved dumbly to address the person who saved his everything.

Ventus simply swung around the Ultima Keyblade for everyone to see.

"Is it okay for me to come in, Mrs. Lockhart?"

"Yes, of course!" Tifa made room for Ventus to step in, which he did. He stopped swinging the Keyblade around just in case it slipped out of his hand and destroyed something. Giving a small bow of his head towards Cloud to acknowledge his presence, he grinned at everyone.

"Long time no see guys. Well, it hasn't really been a long time, but for dramatic effect, humor me here. Aw c'mon guys, don't look at me as if you guys are going to cry! Happy times here, happy times!" He then turned towards Kairi. "Sorry for barging in all of a sudden. Roxie here told me you guys were going to be at Destiny Islands, so Vanitas gave me your address so that I could return this baby to Sora. Don't lash on Vanny, though. I forced it out of him. Oh, seems like you guys were about to go to the beach. Don't worry, this won't take long at all!"

Walking over to Sora, he gestured for Sora to hold out his hands. Sora obediently followed his command without a second thought. When the Ultima Keyblade was back into his hands, he felt its familiar heavy weight. "It'll be sad to part with this beauty, but it has to be returned at some point!"

Before anyone could even say anything, Tifa interrupted with a hand on her forehead once more. She was definitely not letting all of this sink in quite easily.

"Wait, wait, wait, please explain to me why Ventus Airius is in my home right now and why Sora and Roxas looks so darn familiar!"

Kairi really couldn't believe how her parents had yet to recognize Sora and Roxas. Did they even watch TV?

"Mom, do you really not know who they are?" Namine asked, seriously concerned now. She looked at her dad but was surprised to see him just reading his newspaper again. That indicated that he had already figured out. It was only her mom that still hadn't figured it out yet.

"Oh, so they are somebodies," she concluded. "I'm not going crazy."

Sora and Roxas awkwardly stood next to each other as everyone looked at them. Everyone expected them to introduce themselves formally, but when the both of them kept quiet, Kairi just couldn't take it anymore.

"Mom, this is Roxas Hikari, and—"

"Hi, my dad's the CEO of Keywielders," Roxas cut in, feeling so lame that Kairi had to do it for him. He gave her a side glare, which she returned back. "People don't usually recognize me because I'm not really out in the public a lot, but when they do, it's because of my dad." At least half of it was true—ever since the Keyblade Wars, more people have taken notice of him.

"Wimp," she mouthed.

"Stop it," he mouthed back.

"And uh, I'm his cousin," Sora repeated again, feeling that that was enough for an introduction. Cousins were significant too, right?

"Seriously?" Kairi mouthed to him this time. Sora glared right back at her. Kairi mentally sighed.

"Mom, this is Sora Hikari, and—"

"I'm her boyfriend."

"What the fuck?" Kairi couldn't help but curse out loud. She clamped her hand over her mouth.

Pfff!

Riku jumped away from Cloud, who spat all of his water out.

Kairi stared at Sora.

He simply gave her a sweet smile back.

Namine gave him a thumbs up.

Ventus let out an "ooo" in surprise while everyone else just looked at Sora as if he just grew five heads all at once.

"No, really!" Tifa exclaimed, a hand on her cheek as she looked Sora up and down exactly like how she did it with Riku and smiled excitedly. "Passable, passable!"

"Mom!" Kairi whined, feeling heat rising up to her ears. "Sora, what the heck!"

"They gotta know some at point," Sora shrugged, completely composed as he felt the Ultima Keyblade in his hands. He didn't want her mom to think Riku was her boyfriend any longer. He could feel Namine's approving look on him as he tried not to laugh.

That was a lot easier than he thought.

"Sorry, I'm kind of shy about introducing myself in this sort of fashion," Sora admitted as he stretched a hand out towards Tifa. "I'm Sora, the kind-of-creator of the Keyblade."

Cloud had to swoop in from his chair and rescue his wife from another fainting spell as she absorbed everything that was just thrown at her.

~Five Minutes Later~

"I'm so sorry about the shock, Ms. Lockhart. I thought you knew already!" Ventus exclaimed as he looked worriedly at Tifa. Tifa shook her head and weakly smiled.

"It's fine, it's fine. Go on, kids, continue your business—it sounds important," she urged. "I'll just get juice or something. Sit at the table! Don't worry, Cloud won't bite."

However, everyone just opted to stand—Cloud looked scarier than usual. Probably because one of his daughter's boyfriend was standing right in front of him. Kairi could tell that this wasn't the last time she'll hear from them about Sora.

"Anyway, yeah," Ventus pointed to the Ultima Keyblade, "It's been nice having it, but it's time to return it."

Sora gave the Ultima Keyblade, one of his best works yet, another look before he shook his head and handed it back to Ventus. Ventus dumbly took it back into his hands. Sora only gave a closed-mouth smile.

"It's yours. Keep it."

"What? Sora…" Ventus looked surprised for once. "Why?"

"It's the least I can do," Sora admitted. He felt so indebted to Ventus; this was one of the only ways he could show his gratitude. "Without you, I don't think I would've reclaimed the name of the Keyblade. You sacrificed a lot for us—just keep it. It's a form of my thanks."

"It's not mine to give, but I think you should have it too, Ventus," Roxas joined in, urging his twin to just accept it. "I really don't have anything to give you as a thank you yet, so if you accept this, it'll temporarily relieve my sense of debt."

"Guys, it was actually nothing," Ventus laughed as he shook his head. "It should be the other way around—what I did was to show my gratitude to you and your father, Sora, and you too, Roxas."

"Just have it, Ventus, seriously. I feel like this Keyblade is just as special to you as it is to me. Always look back at it to remember what you did for us," Sora insisted, and he made sure Ventus kept it in his hand by putting his own hand on top of it. "Really."

"Aw, guys, you're going to make me cry." Everyone thought Ventus was just kidding, but when he had to quickly wipe his eyes with his arm, they knew that wasn't it. He lightly threw the Keyblade up in the air and grabbed it by the handle, testing its weight once more before he beamed at his younger colleagues. "Thanks, Sora." Unexpectedly, he went over to both Roxas and Sora to give them both a hug, in which it was hesitantly returned. "Thanks, Roxas. I'll be watching over you guys, okay? Finish college and let me see what you guys do in the future."

"Yeah, of course."

Ventus, like he promised, didn't stay for long. Not wanting to intrude any longer, he bid the gang and the parents good bye before he went on his way. However, before he left, he put in some word for Sora.

"Hey, don't worry, your daughter is in good hands," he cheerfully said, earning a violent coughing fit from Kairi. "Sora's the man."

"Ventus, just go now," Sora demanded as he embarrassingly pushed the Keyblader out through the front door. "Out, out."

"See you guys later! Good luck!"

And Ventus's surprise yet delightful visit ended just that quick.

Once he left, the gang quickly excused themselves as well to go to the beach. Kairi didn't want to stay longer underneath her parents' scrutinizing gaze. Sora didn't look too bothered as he tried not to laugh at Kairi's reactions; what did she expect when she planned to bring him over here in the first place?

What a silly girl.

Expectedly, there were many people at the beach doing various activities. From playing beach volleyball to tanning, the large amount of people made the atmosphere a whole lot more fun-feeling. Riku was the first one to strip and take off his jacket, ready to just dive in and attract the ladies. Sora covered Kairi's eyes childishly, earning a laugh from her.

"I won't look, you idiot."

"I don't know, man, Riku has a rock-hard six-pack. I don't trust your eyes to not wander." Kairi slapped his hand away from her eyes and smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Riku's not my type."

"Nobody should be your type except me."

"Guys, quit flirting and let's go!" Axel interrupted the two as he swung an arm around both their shoulders. "It's time to have a well-deserved vacation!"

When the two girls finally unzipped their jackets, the four boys tried not to stare like idiots. Roxas focused his attention on a very good-looking palm tree while Sora just frowned at Kairi. Too revealing.

"What are we waiting for! Let's go!" Namine giggled as she took off her sandals and sunk her feet into the warm sand. Kairi followed her, embracing the beach she missed so much.

"Time to get it on." Axel ripped open his jacket and ran straight into the water, not caring how he was splashing a nearby couple real hard. Riku joined in, but instead of running, he simply walked slowly, allowing the ladies to check him out. Sora tried not to hide his face in embarrassment for his two friends.

"Twilight Town doesn't have beaches, so this is a new experience," Roxas said next to him as he felt the warm sand with his foot. "Not sure what to do though."

"How about trying to talk to Namine?" Sora chuckled as he stepped into the sand a couple of feet and sat down. Roxas joined him.

"W-what?"

"She doesn't bite—well, she kinda does if you tick her off—but you should go talk to her."

"W-why should I do that?" Roxas spluttered. His cousin was so lame, Sora thought. Namine could easily turn him into the most unintelligent, bumbling fool on earth if she wanted him to. "She—I—oh, I don't—Sora!"

Scratch that—she already did.

"I think everyone here knows you have a thing for her except the person herself. If you don't act soon, she might be taken away you know. You've been doing nothing ever since this school year started. You want her to be taken away, don't you?"

"No! I… don't."

"Then go!"

"But Sora—"

"Go!" When Sora slapped Roxas's bare back with his hand, that got Roxas to move confusingly towards the direction of Namine. Sora wasn't going to admit it, but he just wanted Roxas to take Namine away so that he could spend time with his own girl.

Sorry, dude.

No, but if anything, he wished his cousin good luck.

Sora tried not to laugh like a wheezing old man when Roxas got swept by a wave and fell right on his butt the moment he reached Namine in the water.

"Roxas, are you okay?" Namine said worriedly. She held out a hand to help him up, which he took, but he only fell back down again when his eyes landed on her petite body.

"Too much… too much," he could be heard muttering as he opted to helping himself up. Roxas could see Kairi trying not to laugh her brains out behind her sister.

"Smooth," she mouthed at him, and the only thing he could do was glare at her.

"You're not used to the beach, are you?" Namine giggled as she wiped sand away from his shoulders. Roxas became a tomato in less than a second at the direct contact of skin. Kairi slowly snuck out to leave the two blondes alone.

Seeing Riku by the side, she was about to go up and talk to him, but she was unwelcomed as Riku gave her a deranged look and shooed her away with his hands.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Kairi laughed as she backed away from the frantic Riku.

"Kairi, I cannot be seen with you," he hissed as the waves washed by his feet. "Shoo, shoo!"

"Wait, why not?"

"You're going to drive away the girls from me!" Kairi tried not to roll her eyes at the ridiculous dude. "If girls see me with you, they'll think you're my girlfriend, and they won't come to me! You're too hot, dude, they'll be intimidated."

"Wow, that sounds like a compliment, but at the same time, it sounds like an insult," Kairi mocked hurt as she complied to his demands. At this point in time, Riku calling her pretty was nothing but an every-day statement now.

"Listen to the man's commands," Sora's voice sounded behind her. She squealed when a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist. "It's his time to shine."

"Stop showing off and go," Riku joked as he shooed them away once more. He didn't have to say it twice as Sora carried a squealing Kairi away towards an area with less people.

Over at Roxas's side, he tried not to stutter anymore than he did as he sat with Namine in the sand. Her hair was slightly wavy from being wet, but it was quickly drying underneath the sun. He tried not to fiddle with his hands—the least he could do was look normal and calm.

"Do you like the beach?" Namine asked as she played with the sand. She let it run through her fingers. "Although, I don't think the beach likes you," she lightly teased, referring to how he dramatically fell flat on his bottom. Roxas laughed awkwardly.

"I think so too. But no, it's great. It's so sunny here compared to Twilight Town." Roxas reveled in the ocean breeze that ran through his hair and let out a content sigh. "I'll make a note to come here often."

"With who? It's not fun to come here alone."

"I'll probably drag Axel along. Maybe Sora if we become closer in the future."

"Closer to Sora? Aren't you guys okay now?" Namine asked, eyebrows furrowed. All of the giddiness inside Roxas slowly faded away to be replaced with a sad smile.

"I guess, but I don't think I can easily forget what I did to him just like that." Roxas looked out at the ocean horizon and wondered how far it actually stretched. "I feel like I just need to do more repenting."

"Roxas…"

"I actually don't know what to do now, to be honest. My dad has accepted his defeat; Sora will probably take over something—whether it be Keywielders or something else—later in the future. He has already got what he wanted—recognition—so I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. I'm not even sure what my place is anymore," Roxas sighed as he realized how he was suddenly pouring all his dark thoughts out to Namine on a happy day. He quickly returned to his nervous self as he looked at Namine. "But it's okay, it'll sort itself out. If anything, I'll just find something else to do and find my own way, you know?"

"Roxas, you seriously can't mean 'find something else to do', do you?" Namine asked, scaring Roxas a bit. He simply shrugged, not sure why she was suddenly getting infuriated.

"Being involved with the Keyblade never was meant to be for me anyway, so—"

"Don't you think you're beating yourself down a little bit too harshly?" His mouth instantly snapped closed when Namine suddenly spoke in a loud manner. She sighed and crushed the sand in her hands. "I understand that what you did isn't something to be proud of, and if you never did it, then Sora wouldn't have gone through all of that anguish, but!" Roxas simply watched as Namine reached out to him and held one of his hands between her own as she urged him to look into her blue eyes. "You've worked just as hard. You've done all you could to make it up to Sora, and Sora even forgave you! He wouldn't even talk to you if he was still angry at you. And by the look in your eyes, doing what you did wasn't simply for your dad. Along the way, you found something you loved doing, right?"

Roxas swallowed the hard lump in his throat as he looked at Namine's hands wrapped around his before looking back up.

"Yeah," he simply croaked, and Namine gave him a bright smile.

"Then it's okay. Everything's okay. Don't stop what you love doing. In my eyes, you're doing a great job at it too, so don't give up on it, okay?"

"Is it okay, though?"

"Look at everyone," Namine let go of Roxas's hand, pointed to Riku and Axel who were splashing around foolishly in the water and then pointed more to the left where Kairi and Sora were walking by the shore, side-by-side. "If it wasn't okay, would we all be here today together having fun?" Roxas thought about it for a moment before he shook his head, and a real smile graced his features.

"I guess we wouldn't."

The two fell into a peaceful silence as the sound of chatter between people and the waves crashing upon the rocks were heard. It was Roxas who broke the silence with a bold question he never thought he would ask.

"Namine."

"Hm?"

"Are you by chance interested in anyone?" Sora's words echoed within his head—he didn't want to be too late. Namine eyed him curiously before she laughed lightly.

"Why are you asking?"

"S-sora and Kairi suddenly got together, so I—I was just wondering what—yeah." Roxas became a stuttering fool again. Her eyes twinkled before she stood up.

"I don't know. I don't really like anyone right now but there is a guy I'm interested in. He's really nice and kind."

Roxas sighed a disappointed sigh—he knew it. Of course, his beautiful crush would have her eyes on someone else already. Seeing his obviously disappointed figure, Namine tried not to laugh before she gave her hand out to him once more.

"C'mon, the day is wasting, let's enjoy the water!"

Roxas glumly took her hand to hoist himself up.

"Sure."

Over at Kairi and Sora, they found a spot by the rocks away from people and decided to sit in the sand to watch the gentle waves.

"Are you not a swimmer?" Kairi asked as she settled her sandals next to her. "You're not really getting into the water." She wondered why Sora suddenly gave her a strange look, but forgetting how he was on the swim team, she let out an "oops."

"Wow, I can't believe you just asked me that question," Sora chuckled. "And I thought you knew me better."

"Sometimes I forget a few details, okay?" Kairi said defensively but broke out into a laugh at the end. "Are you not a fan of the beach though?"

"I am, but today, I don't feel like getting sand grains all over my hair," Sora admitted. He felt a few of his spikes. "They just get trapped like no tomorrow."

"Does your hair ever go down, even in the water?"

"Nope?"

"What the hell? Does your hair defy physics or something?"

"I ask the same question to myself every single day after a shower." Kairi shivered unintentionally when she felt Sora slip a hand around her waist to pull her closer to his side. Feeling his hand on her bare skin did wonders to her. "I like this though. It's calming."

"Yup."

With her head resting on his shoulder, Kairi gazed out into the sea. She could spot Axel's red hair and Riku's unique silver hair from a mile away.

"Want to tell me what was with you when we landed?" Kairi finally asked to break the silence. She never found the right time to inquire about it, but she decided that now was the time.

"Hm?" Sora hummed in response. Realizing what she was talking about, he let out an "oh" and sighed.

"I was just nervous."

"So Riku was right?"

"Sure, whatever he said," Sora let her go and created some space in between them so that he could face her while talking. "One factor was meeting your parents. I felt weird the moment I saw them, so sorry about that."

"You sure confidently told them the truth, didn't you?" Kairi muttered as she burned red in embarrassment when she remembered how he boldly just announced their relationship. Sora smirked at her.

"What were you expecting? I thought it wouldn't bother you, since you decided to take your boyfriend home all of a sudden. I liked your guts, but it seems like, in the end, you don't have any."

"That's because I was planning to tell them in a calmer manner!" Kairi crossed her arms with a "hmph." "Not when my mom's head is spinning in circles. Slow and steady wins the race, Sora."

"Not when your mom thinks someone else is your boyfriend," Sora muttered darkly. "Slow and steady doesn't always win the race depending on the conditions."

"Boyfriend? Who in the world?"

"Riku, you smarty."

"Pfft, what the heck? You have quite the imagination, don't you?" This earned her a tight headlock and a violent ruffle to her hair.

"Say it again, Kairi, say it's all in my head again. I dare you, you unaware redhead," he commanded as Kairi let out a strangled cry. She wiggled out of his grip and groaned when she felt her hair all messed up.

"Watch the hair, dude, watch the darn hair!"

Sora kissed her to shut her up. It went away too fast before Kairi could even kiss him back.

"We're at the beach, and you want to keep your hair neat? You're a special one, do you know that?" Sora teased as he pulled back away from her. He chuckled at the frown etched between her eyes. She no longer seemed flustered whenever he kissed her. He made a note to change that later when they had more private time. "But back to your question—it wasn't just the whole meeting-the-parents ordeal."

"Hm? It isn't? There's something else?"

"Yeah. It isn't that big of a deal. It just made me feel… strange. So sorry about that too."

"I'm not following."

"It's just that," Sora sighed, "I think Destiny Islands was the last place where I really felt happy?" Sora never told this to anyone, so as he did, he awkwardly drew random shapes in the sand with his finger. "I really liked it here. It was a time where both my parents were still alive. I remember playing at the beach when I was young, swimming all day long, building a boat with my dad—it really was a happy time for me. Then we had to move to Traverse Town for my dad's work, which wasn't an easy change. It was a lot darker there. The beach that I liked wasn't there anymore, and I couldn't feel the ocean breeze anymore. It was a total let-down.

"But it was okay—it was a gradual change. Both my parents were still by my side, so I thought it would all be alright. And then fast forward in time, and you already know the rest. Had to move to Twilight Town and start another new life there. I never had the chance to revisit Destiny Islands, so coming back here all of a sudden made me feel out of it. Going through weird feelings, the works." Sora blinked when Kairi suddenly gave him teary eyes. That wasn't what he wanted. "No, but seriously, I'm okay now, so—"

"You should've told me," she sniffed. "And I would've been more considerate, you know?"

"It's fine, idiot." Sora pulled her back to his side by swinging an arm around her shoulders. Kairi rubbed her nose with a finger and sniffed again. "It really is. It was just an initial feeling. Now I'm feeling okay."

"If you say so. How do you feel being back on a Destiny Island beach?"

"It feels great," Sora confessed. "Especially since I'm with people who are important to me. I wouldn't want to have it any other way."

"How sweet, Sora," Kairi snickered in response as she poked him in the cheek. She let out a small hum. "It feels weird though, doesn't it?"

"What does?"

"Just last month, you were battling it out with your uncle. Now… we're just chilling. It's like a bittersweet memory except it wasn't sweet at all." Kairi became bold and straddled Sora, making his breath hitch suddenly. She started to play with his hair, and he closed his eyes once more as he listened to her smooth voice. "To think that I started college, like what, eight months ago? I think I would be extremely lying if I said I had a normal freshman year."

"Credits to me for making your life spicier," he jokingly bragged as he started to play with her hair as well. "One and only Sora Hikari, the man who brought the sparkles in your world."

"As if, you egoist."

"Keep being in denial," Sora said as he stuck out his tongue. She flicked his forehead in response lightly and sighed. It was definitely going to be weird for her to go back to a normal college life, not that it was too crazy to begin with. To not have things other than school to worry her would be great.

Although, having Sora as a boyfriend was anything but normal.

"What do you plan to do though?"

"Roxas asked me the same question. I just said 'I don't know.' Finishing college is my top priority right now. I'll just worry about the Keywielders thing later—it's not like it's gonna grow legs and run somewhere. I have all the time in the world. Do you know what else I have to do though?"

"What?"

"Be with you," Sora smiled. He took both of his hands and stretched Kairi's cheeks, earning a groan of agitation from her. "My cute little angel, you."

"Is that supposed to sound endearing? Because it doesn't."

"Get used to it."

Kairi screamed once more when Sora suddenly lifted her up and went towards the water. She thought he would gently let her down, but she was so wrong. He merely just dropped her straight into the water with no precautions whatsoever, causing her to swallow a good chunk of salt water. Spitting it out violently, she flipped her hair back to shoot a death glare at Sora, who just smirked at her.

"You kinda look hot when you're wet and angry in the water," Sora said as he checked her out. He even gave a nod of approval to humor himself. "My type of thing." He quickly backed away when Kairi attempted to splash a wave of water at him, only to miss.

"Come here, you asshole," Kairi growled, "And let me drown you." Pulling Sora's arm, she successfully got him fully in the water and dunked his head underneath it, earning a flailing of arms from him as he resurfaced. Just like he said, his spiky hair poofed back up as if it never got wet in the first place as he shook the water out of his hair.

Kairi never realized how handsome Sora looked when his body was in the water. With droplets glistening on his tanned skin, it really outlined the faint lines of muscles that he had. She found him a lot sexier too with the whole silver crown necklace he wore.

Yeah, things were definitely not going to return back to normal with Sora as a boyfriend.

"The water's a lot colder than I remembered it to be," Sora noted as he waddled through the water to wrap his arms around Kairi again. She settled her hands on his shoulders as she looked into his deep oceanic eyes. "Wonder why."

"Maybe it's because it's spring, Einstein," Kairi pointed out. "Spring doesn't equal summer."

"Yeah, it takes a no-brainer to figure out spring doesn't equal summer," he bit back as he leaned his forehead against hers. The waves swam past them gently as they stood waist deep in the water. Kairi giggled when Sora lifted her up. Legs wrapped around his waist, she tried not to tip them both over into the water.

"For a guy who barely did anything with his ex-girlfriend, you sure know how to be romantic, don't you?"

"I learn from the best, don't I?" Sora joked, referring to Riku. "Taught me all I need to know."

And Sora leaned up to capture her lips with his. Arms wrapped around his neck, Kairi delightfully returned his wet kiss with as much enthusiasm. Since there weren't really a lot of people around, she wasn't afraid to deepen the kiss a little. Just when she thought they were going to go a little bit overboard with the way Sora's fingers dangerously traced the outlines of her bikini top…

Splash!

"Holy fuck!"

Kairi's surprised scream got muffled by the water once more as Sora completely let her go and dropped her back into the water. Next to them were Axel and Riku, who had mischievously poured water over their heads with buckets they mysteriously got somewhere. Roxas and Namine also joined in on the surprise brigade as they used their hands to splash water at the couple. Sora had no choice but to retaliate back.

"Where the hell did you guys even come from?" Sora yelled amidst the flying waters. Kairi found her footing once more as she shook her wet hair out of her face. "Do you know what privacy means?"

"Thanks for dropping me for the nth time!" Kairi yelled as she joined everyone in their attack against Sora.

"This is the beach, foo, privacy doesn't exist here!" Riku half-screamed, half-laughed as he continued to use the bucket to throw water at Sora.

"That's right!" Axel joined in.

"Five against one, five against one! Unfair play here!"

All six of their laughter resonated with the sound of the ocean breeze and the gentle wafting of the waters as they continued to attack each other with splashes. Other people on the beach probably thought they were too crazy and immature for a bunch of twenty-year-olds, but to them, it was finally a moment for them to be normal college kids again.

The way it's supposed to be.

~.~.~

Kairi taped the picture into her notebook and patted it to make sure it didn't fall off. She smiled as she read everything she had written.

Kairi reminded herself to write more things down if she remembered them.

Underneath her list was the newly-added photo she taped in. The photo consisted of the six of them with their sparklers as they tried to form the word "friends", but they failed utterly when Axel couldn't spell the letter "F" correctly (no one could blame him—it was the hardest letter to form with a single sparkler).

"Kairi, it's time to go! We're going to miss our ship at this rate!"

"Coming!" Kairi quickly shut her notebook and stuffed it in her suitcase. She quickly exited her room and out the front door, where everybody was waiting for her.

"Good bye, Destiny Islands. Until we meet again," Roxas said in a bittersweet tone as his eyes grazed past the palm trees and the sea once more.

"Thanks for having us," Axel thanked Tifa and Cloud. The adults simply smiled.

"It was great to have the house so lively again. Feel free to come again!" Tifa said. She then patted her husband on the back. "Go, go, drive them to the port before it's too late!" Kairi and Namine both gave their mom one last hug before they put everything in the car.

"Thank you for the homemade food," Sora said to Tifa as everyone took turns putting their things into the back of the car. "It was great." Tifa smiled and shook her head.

"Thank you for taking care of Kairi. I know she gets a little bit out of hand sometimes, but she's a good girl."

"Yeah, I know." Tifa couldn't help but squeal and patted Sora on the shoulder.

"Okay, go on! We wouldn't want any of you to miss your ship back home! I hope I see you all again soon!"

And as the house shrunk the more the car drove on, Kairi couldn't wait to return back to her life as a college student with her newfound friends by her side. She could just imagine it—Namine with her nerdy outbreaks, Roxas with his nervous stutters, Axel with his inappropriate yet funny jokes, Riku with the girls, and Sora with his cocky yet caring personality. When she took turns to look at everyone in the car, it was then that she realized something.

With all the odds in the world, they all managed to beat them and be here together. Kairi would've never imagined seeing herself here with these people. From the crazy adventures to the unexpected friendships, Kairi wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Summary of my wonderful first year of college (in no particular order):

-Broke a certain someone's wrist and became his obedient slave

-Somehow passed all my math classes with the help of the o'mighty genius Roxas

-Survived Sephiroth's class

-Went to my first college party (a very bad yet memorable experience)

-Went to my first ever dog café (the dogs were so cute!)

-Attacked my roommate (I'm not afraid to attack her again)

-Made up with my ex

-Fell in love with the creator of the Keyblade (crazy right?)

-Got together with the creator of the Keyblade (double crazy)

-Became a somewhat-secret agent for a day

-Met the most famous Keyblader in the whole entire world (got his autograph too!)

-Discovered the amazing Aerith's Burgers

-Learned how to skip class efficiently and effectively from the one-and-only Riku Solari

-hooked up my sister with Roxas (still-in-process)

-went to the beach with all my friends

-Supported boyfriend to win the name of the Keyblade back

-Watched the keyblade wars with all of my friends

-Learned that college isn't all that fun when you have horrible professors

-Learned that the most unexpected things can happen when you're least prepared for it (but it's okay because everything will work out in the end)

-Life is all about mending things together, one strand at a time.

THE END

Here it is guys: the end of this story. I really don't know what is up with my writing (maybe because of the stress of summer session omg) but I couldn't help but write this as a rushed ending. I don't know, everything felt rushed to me, but I really did try my best to flesh out this last chapter! I was planning on writing another chapter after this one, but then realized I probably didn't have enough brain power for another chapter, so I wrapped it up in one.

On a brighter note-this is the end. Wow. I remember I wrote this story in 2016 on Christmas Night on a whim. I didn't expect myself to write something this long. I'll definitely look back at this story as a good experience, and I hope you, my readers, really enjoyed reading this story as I enjoyed writing it (even if I did have my own slip ups because of writer's block and night-time writing.

One thing I want to say: I do have an epilogue planned (I GUESS I DO HAVE ENOUGH BRAIN POWER FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER) but I'm not sure if any of you guys want it. Do let me know if you guys want an epilogue (like a 10 years later thing) or if this ending is good enough for you guys!

ONE FINAL THING: Thank you so much for my silent readers, active reviewers, and just everyone! I wouldn't be able to continue writing this story without motivation stemming from you guys. I wouldn't write a story knowing people didn't like it-thank you so much for showing your appreciation for this story. Do leave one final thought as a review because I do want to improve as a writer! I won't stop writing (I've already started on my second fanfic) so be on the look out for my next few activities.

And this concludes Mending Strands. I hope you guys have enjoyed this story to the fullest :)