Kind of a song fic for Bucky Covington's "I'll Walk," but no lyrics actually included. If you want to listen to it while you read, be my guest, but you can get along without it.

If I knew how to make music videos, I'd make a video to go with this story, but I don't so… (If anybody wants to do it, give me a shout out and I'll put the link in here!)

X X X

The night was beautiful, but dark. There was no moon in the sky and the stars were obscured by wisps of cotton-candy-fluff clouds, but it was still and warm. A faint breeze blew in off the ocean, teasing the air with its soft salty scent. Heaven was close…

Closer than anyone would have ever thought, just… waiting…

They were eighteen. It was prom night and they had their first big fight.

"Pull this car over," Kairi said flatly. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest in a defensive posture, flattening her breasts so they swelled over the top of her satiny black dress. Tucked neatly in her cleavage, hanging on a delicate silver chain, was the ring her boyfriend had given her, glinting faintly in the dim light.

Sighing heavily, Sora did, drifting quietly into the shoulder of the road. "I don't know what you're crying for," he said softly as he put the car in park.

Kairi glared at him in the dark, indigo eyes sparkling like when he had given her the ring except these were with tears of frustration and pain. She reached for the door, slamming it open.

Sora grabbed her hand before she could get out of the car.

She turned her eyes on him like a bright light and said firmly, voice cracking with tears, "I'll walk. Let go of my hand. Right now I'm hurt and you don't understand. So just be quiet and later we will talk. Just leave, don't worry. I'll walk."

So, Sora let her fingers slide from his and watched as she slammed the door. Her heels sank in the soft dirt at the shoulder, making her stagger and wobble. He let her get in front of him and put out his headlights, following safely behind her in his car even though she had told him to go. He watched her dig her phone from her purse and make a call.

"Mom?" she sobbed.

"Kairi, sweetie, what's wrong?" Her mother's voice washed over her like a soothing wave.

She hiccupped. "I had a fight with Sora. I'm walking home, so I'll be a little late."

"I'll come pick you up. Did he kick you out of his car?"

"Of course not." Kairi glanced back over her shoulder, seeing the dim outline of Sora's sleek black car in the night. She could just make out the flash of his cerulean eyes catching light from the controls on the dashboard. "He's following me now."

"Following you?"

"Yeah, I told him to go, but I guess he wants to see me home safely." Kairi laughed sadly and it came out more of a sob. "I just wanted to let you know I'd be a little late, Mom."

"Okay, sweetheart, I'll wait up for you."

They disconnected and Kairi continued walking, listening to the crunch of Sora's tires on the pavement behind her. She allowed a small sad smile to touch her lips. She fingered the hem of her black dress, remembering how Sora's lips had touched her exposed throat and told her how beautiful she looked. His touch set her on fire and she thought of how he had held her while they danced. She felt so safe in his arms, like an angel protected by God.

Kairi turned the blind corner of the road and bright headlights blinded her for a moment, glinting off the small sequins in her dress. Dark night, black dress… He must have never even seen her. She lifted her hands to her face, shielding her eyes, but her ears were still in perfect condition. She heard brakes screaming and someone was leaning on the horn. Between her fingers, she glimpsed the dark monstrous shadow of an eighteen-wheeler barreling towards her.

She wouldn't survive.

The truck was fishtailing, trying to avoid her, but it was already too late… way to late…

She felt Heaven wrapping its warm white fingers around her and then, suddenly, the light was gone. Something tore by her at top speed, wind whipping her dress against her thighs. Then, she was alone on the dark street. Beside her, the truck had missed by inches. It was tilted precariously into the ditch at the side of the road, most of its trailer still on the road. Crumpled beneath it, a mess of twisted metal and broken glass, was Sora's sleek black car.

…

She must have called an ambulance. She must have… because suddenly there was a screaming siren-sound and the flash of blue-and-red lights staining the deserted roadway. Someone was leading her away, asking if there was anyone they could call. She didn't remember saying anything, so they must have taken her phone and called her mother. They must have… because suddenly, her mother was there with her. They were sitting in the emergency room. Kairi was shivering, wrapped in some cop's coat. It must have been only a few hours. It must have… Sora couldn't be hurt enough to take more than that. He couldn't have died…

Sitting beside them were Sora's parents, both pale and gaunt and terrified. Kairi's mother must have called them.

Finally, a tall washed-out doctor in the pale green scrubs stepped out of the swinging doors to Heaven or Hell, looked around, and finally came over to them. He knelt in front of Kairi and gently took her hands in his own, rubbing her icy-cold fingers. He may have been in front of her, but it was easy to tell he was talking to Sora's parents. "We've done everything we can and he's stable now, though still in critical condition, but… His legs still won't move."

"His legs?" Kairi heard her mother whisper. Next to them, Sora's mother began to cry and her long silver hoop earrings jingled like a gypsy wind-bell. His father's fingers tightened into white-knuckled fists on the arms of the uncomfortable chair. The man looked away, gruff and barely powerful.

Kairi was already shaking her head.

Sora couldn't be hurt. He was a soccer player. He needed his legs. He couldn't be hurt. The doctor must have been lying, but the doctor only nodded sadly.

"Can we see him?" Sora's mother asked and her voice sounded as if it was coming from far away. It sounded like a broken chime.

He looked them over and nodded. "He's awake, but only one should go in and see him." He hesitated, looking over the parents and young woman. "He was asking for Kairi," he murmured.

Sora mother made a trapped cornered sound that cut through like a knife. His father spoke to Kairi's mother, saying only one word. "Go."

Kairi felt hands guiding her, carrying her along like she was a fish caught in an undertow. She was spirited down the hallways, past room after room of injured people surrounded by family. She saw a few people she knew, people who had been drunk at prom and driven home. Neither she nor Sora had been drinking. Finally, they stopped in front of a room and the door swung open as if a ghostly servant had been waiting. Maybe the doctor opened the door. Maybe the Grim Reaper had opened it for her, like a patient servant waiting to steal away her most precious person. The door creaked closed.

This felt like a dream.

But there, white-pale and streaked-bloody, was her Sora. He was propped up on a mess of pillows, profile sad and anguished, dark circles staining the flesh below the eye she could see. His lip was split, stitched carefully, and his left arm was encased in a thick plaster cast. His legs were beneath the covers, but looked bulkier than they should have been… both broken… He turned to face her when she entered, revealing a heavy mess of black bruises on the side of his face, one eye already swelling closed. He tried to smile for her, but the stitches in his mouth pulled and blood ran down his chin.

"Hey, Kai," was all he managed before his voice broke off like static on a radio station. He lifted his good hand to his face and tenderly touched the dripping blood.

Her indigo eyes welled with tears and she ran to him, tripping over herself in her haste. She didn't realize she had lost her heels at some point until she felt the cold floor under her. But, at his side, she hesitated. There seemed no place she could touch him that wouldn't hurt him.

Sora reached out with is good hand, blood-stained and fingers curled like the legs of a dead spider. She slipped her fingers into his and gripped his hand like she was holding him here in this world. She heard herself sob his name.

"I'll walk. Please, come and hold my hand," he whispered. His voice sounded lost and small, like an injured animal, like a dying child. "Right now I'm hurt and I don't understand. Let's just be quiet, and later we can talk. Please stay, don't worry. I'll walk."

…

And she did. She held his hand through everything… through the weeks and months of therapy. There was a ten percent chance he would regain movement in his legs. The nerves had been damaged, bones shattered, and put back together with steel and bolts. They confined him to a wheelchair. They said he would never walk again.

The doctors said, "Only ten percent, if that."

Don't say only, just say ten, Sora begged in his mind.

All along, sitting beside him, was his Kairi. She never left his side.

…

The night they graduated, staying home because Sora was exhausted from rolling himself in his wheelchair, Kairi nestled against him on the couch. They were alone, but they only ever needed each other anymore.

"Sora?" Kairi whispered.

"Yeah?"

She gripped his fingers in her own. "Will you marry me?"

"What?"

Since the accident, Sora had been trying to convince her to return them to just friends. He didn't want her to love him. He didn't want to weigh her down with his disabilities. But, he needed her so badly that he couldn't bear to push her away.

"Marry me, Sora Strife. Spend the rest of your life with me."

"But—"

"Please," she whispered and kissed the damaged curve of his lips, licking gently at the scar there. "I love you."

His breath rattled in his lungs. "But, Kairi," he whispered.

"It doesn't matter," she murmured. "Nothing matters but you. I don't care." She kissed him again and fished in the front of her shirt. On her chain, she had another ring with a pretty cerulean jewel set in the silver. She slipped it over his finger and gripped his hand tightly. "Please, Sora, spend your life with me. Marry me."

"Yes," he breathed.

…

(It was all backwards. Kairi asked him to marry her. So, they decided to keep the sense of humor running.)

Kairi was standing at the altar, wearing a beautiful white gown with her red hair tucked beneath a lacy veil. She had a small bouquet of daisies and lilies clutched in her hands and her eyes sparkled. The preacher stood beside her, smiling, blue eyes twinkling with mirth. The organ began to play and Sora appeared at the end of the aisle, sitting in his wheelchair. Beside him, his father looked a little disgruntled to be walking his son down the aisle, but the sight of beautiful Kairi changed his mind.

Sora was gripping the wheels of his chair, face pale and eyes glowing with something Kairi didn't understand. Then, down the hall, he shouted, "Stop the music."

The organ sputtered like something dying.

A few people gasped and murmured, looking at each other.

Sora lifted his eyes to look at his father and smiled his mischievous Sora-smile. But, something lurked beneath it—fear and excitement.

"Sora?" Kairi called. She had one hand fisted in her skirts, prepared to chase him should he decide she deserved better than him, deserved someone not crippled.

He smiled at her, eyes sparkling beautifully. "I'll walk," he said to his father, to Kairi, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Please hold my hand. I know that this will hurt. I know you understand. Please, Daddy, don't cry. This is already hard. Let's go, don't worry. I'll walk."

His father gripped his son's hand and gently helped him from the wheelchair. Sora's first steps were unsteady and he wobbled down the aisle to Kairi, gaining strength and courage with every hard-won step. Then, with a smile, his father slipped his fingers into Kairi's and allowed her to support Sora once more. Someone brought a chair for Sora, but he refused to sit down.

"Sora, how did you…? They said it was only a ten percent chance."

Sora smiled, holding her hands tightly in his own. He took a ring from his pocket and slipped it carefully over her finger. Set in the silver was a black diamond with two small cerulean blue sapphires set on either side of it. "I wanted this… for you," he whispered. "Ten was enough. It wasn't just ten. It was ten for you."

Kairi's eyes filled with tears and she hugged him tightly.

Sora wrapped her in his arms, pulling her so close that it felt like she was a part of his skin. "I love you, Kairi," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she sobbed into him.

I'll walk…

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns?

Because I think it might not have been very clear, Sora rammed the big rig with his car and managed to just make it avoid hitting Kairi.

I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Bucky Covington's "I'll Walk."

And, drum roll please, we are finished!

First, drop a review and let me know what you think! Are the characters way out of character? Think I torture Sora way too much (but it's because he's so easy to be mean to, though I always make sure to give everybody a happy ending!)? Are permanently disgusted and can no longer even play Kingdom Hearts thanks to me? Loved it? Hated it? Are crying? (Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and weenies!) Think I need to do more editing before I post chapters? Post to slow? Chapters are too short? Too long? Yada, yada, yada…

Please, check out my first ORIGINAL NOVEL! The Breaking of Poisonwood by Paradise Avenger. (Summary: People were dead. When Skye Davis bought me at a slave auction as a birthday present for his brother, I had no idea what my new life was going to be like, but I had never expected this. It all started when Venus de Luna was killed and I was to take her place, to become the new savior… Then, bad things happened and some people died. In the heart of the earth, we discovered the ancient being that Frank Davis had found and created and used to his advantage. The Poisonwood—)

And so, I bid you adieu.