Chapter 23: I'm Sorry I Called You A Shrew Kairi

A/N: Merry Christmas! So, last chapter! I'm so glad we're finally here, I cannot describe it to you guys! Like, holy crap this is my first chapter story I finished (the other is on hiatus because I lost all my notes for it and got pissed off), so this is a milestone for me! And I really want to thank everyone who took the time to read and review it, since I've always felt really insecure about my writing and your encouragement has helped convince me that it's not utter crap! Seriously, you guys rock! Why the heck did you put up with me for four years?!

Warnings: An unrealistically happy ending because screw logic.

Disclaimer: The owning of Kingdom Hearts, I have not.

Reviews:

UltimaShishigawa- Thanks for the review! Yeah, it definitely would've been better as two chapters, but the end of the year approaches and I didn't want this story continuing into 2016.

Ken7700- Again, thank you for all the reviews! I'm glad that you experienced such a ride while reading! It's nice to know that my writing has such an impact like that. Lol, don't worry, I'm sure everyone's used that quote at least once in their lives. XD

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

In my haste, I managed to trip over my shoe lace three more times. But could anyone blame me? All these weeks. All these weeks of me regretting never telling her my true feelings until the last moment. All these weeks of work and study and trying to focus on the rest of my life, because let's face it, my love life was a mess. All these weeks of grinning sadly at texts because no matter how nice it was to still talk to her, we couldn't speak face to face. And craziest of all, all those weeks I didn't even know she, Riku and Rinoa were all conspiring her return.

Kairi was back! It might have taken until the middle of summer, but Kairi was back! I couldn't even believe it!

Well actually I could, as I stood in front of the Leonhart residence, heaving like I'd just run a marathon, and hunched over until I was practically bent in half. But that didn't matter because Kairi was…

Kairi was…

"Are you okay, over there?"

There she stood. Leaning against the doorframe with an amused smile, Kairi was right in front of me. She must have heard all the racket I made to have known to open the door. Or maybe Riku told her I was coming over. Who knows. Either way…

"I am now," I stated honestly. I didn't care my feet sore as all hell from all the running. Or that I could barely inhale without my chest hurting. Kairi was right there in front of me. I was fucking dandy.

"Have I ever told you sorry for comparing you to Kate?"

She certainly wasn't expecting that.

"Huh?"

"Yeah," I continued, still huffing. "I used to think you were an actual straight up shrew. Like some Invasion of the Body Snatchers type of shit happened and you had literally been taken over by an alien. Also, I was legit scared of you since you took martial arts in elementary school and I thought you would kick me in the face just for existing. I never stopped liking you though. I might have been more than a little terrified of you, but that was because I thought you legitimately hated me. I've always liked you. And maybe I sound like an ass for saying this because Selphie liked me in eighth grade or because I went out with Garnet when I thought I had no other options and that not going out with someone would make me a loser, but you can't blame me for being young and stupid. I still liked you through all of that. Also, it was me that stole your stuffed Pluto plushie in third grade because I thought you liked it more than me. I'm a complete mess, but I want you to know that despite all that –and I really, really mean it– I still like you and I need to know how you feel!"

Considering all of that was said in one breath, it had taken me a moment to stop wheezing afterward. It had taken much of that moment for Kairi to respond as well.

"You…you stole my Pluto in third grade…because you thought I liked it more than you…?"

"It's kinda weird that you focused on that particular detail."

"No I just—" she cut herself off as she shook her head and rubbed at her temples. And then she started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

At that, she laughed even harder. I was starting to feel a little put out. I opened my mouth to let her know this, but she beat me to the punch.

"Sora, I know how you feel. Trust me, I know. And no, you don't have to apologize for comparing me to Katherine. I guess I was kinda acting like a shrew at the time. Also, you better have kept my Pluto safe, because I'm not dating a guy who can't take care of my things."

It was right around when she said the word "dating" that I'm sure my brain fell out of my head. It must have knocked my jaw out of the way too, because that's currently on the ground as well.

She was actually considering…

"You mean…you really want to—"

"I think I did tell you before, that I really wanted to say yes," she smiled at me then. The whole world lit up in response.

"…Pluto's in my closet on the top shelf. I kept him safe."

Her smile grew at that, and she nodded in approval.

"So then…can I…?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Considering the fact that she leaned forward to kiss me, I guess I didn't have to ask. And I'm pretty sure I heard someone –ahem, Rinoa– shout "finally" from somewhere in the house, but I paid it no mind. I was just happy this was actually happening.

When we finally parted, I was sure there was a goofy smile on my face. Considering she laughed again when she finally got a look at me, there probably was.

"Does this mean we're actually dating now? No more April Fools jokes or anything?" I asked.

"Yeah. To be honest, that was a flimsy excuse anyway. No jokes or anything. We're actually going out," she replied, stepping outside and closing the front door. We both sat down on the steps and simply enjoyed the moment.

"What do you think everyone's gonna say when they find out?"

She shrugged at that.

"Tidus'll probably throw a party or something. Your cheerleaders probably will too."

I cringed for a moment at the mention of my now former cheerleaders. I had hoped she'd forgotten about that. And I should probably tell her that they weren't my cheerleaders anymore at some point.

"Well, before we go to any of Tidus' wild parties…want to try going on an actual date?"

Another world-lighting smile was sent my way and I got my answer before she even spoke.

"I'd love to."

Another moment of silence.

"We can go to the old island. The one we always used to hang out on. That all right with you?"

"Yeah. It's been a while."

I turned to look at her again. Still smiling. That was good. It had been too long since I'd really seen her this happy. And well…I wanted to…

"I told you Sora. You don't have to ask," she said, turning to me as well. I nodded and leaned forward.

Yeah. It had been a while since I'd been this happy too.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Afterward

"You! Scoot over!"

Jumping out of my nap, I glanced up to see Roxas scowling at me from behind the couch.

"…The hell's your deal?" I asked.

"I'm going to lose my mind if I don't sit down and take a break. I'm also going to sit on you if you don't move it!"

Deciding I didn't want to be squished, I scooted out of the way. Besides, I figured Roxas would be going crazy at some point. Two kids and a greedy record label to deal with. Then again, he's the one who offered to be Yuna's manager/songwriter. And he's the one who ended up with yet another kid. There's no way he didn't expect the stress that would come with that.

"Why the hell are you so happy-go-lucky anyway?" he grouched.

"Uh, hello? Did you forget about the graduation ceremony you just attended only a week ago?" I asked, rolling my eyes. Leave it to my dear big brother. He was getting almost as forgetful as Vanille. That's saying something.

"Ugh. Right. So how come you aren't dealing with any of this shit?" he asked, putting his feet up on the table, knowing damn well Mom would tell him to remove them in a few minutes.

"Maybe because I didn't become a father straight out of high school. Or take on such a stressful job."

Well, that was a partial lie. The Kilika troupe wasn't exactly lax about their performers' work schedules. Not to mention, after being bought out by a company in Zanarkand, our work load got a lot bigger. I wasn't quite as stressed as Rox, and I have to admit, graduating high school took a lot off of my shoulders, but it was still quite a handful.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't go making too many plans. You're the best babysitter I have," he said, waving his hand and moving his feet after the inevitable shout of 'feet off the table' as Mom walked from downstairs into the kitchen.

It was true, I was happy to babysit little Ven and Jessie. After all, Naminé's going to college and Roxas is working with Yuna to turn her into a star one day, so someone needed to stay behind and watch their kids. Though considering where my acting troupe was headed, they might need to start paying someone.

"Have I told you that I'm thinking of moving to Zanarkand once I get on my feet?"

He did a double take at that.

"Zanarkand? Why there?"

"Well, for one it's cheaper than Destiny. And two, I did tell you that my troupe was bought out," I said.

"Really? What about Kairi? You're not gonna leave her here?"

"Nah, I talked to her about it. She wants to go to Luca. We'll be much closer to each other that way. So when we wanna spend time together, we'll only be a thirty minute boat ride away from each other. Plus, the acting troupes in Luca and Zanarkand tend to jump to each other's theatres during blitzball games now that the actual Luca theatre is closed down and they're using the stadium instead, so we can see each other during performances."

"Huh," Roxas mumbled, rubbing his chin. "I can't believe it. My widdle baby brother's all grown up."

"Shut up Roxas!"

We both laughed at that. Said laughter was joined in by two more voices as Naminé walked downstairs as well, carrying two giggling children in her arms. Both being old enough to walk (although Jessie was just barely, and could only slightly manage on shaky legs), they were soon let down, carelessly waddling their way over to the couch. Roxas picked up Ven and set him on his lap, while I reached for Jessie. At one year younger than her brother, and –much like her brother– completely unexpected, Jessie was the newest Strife member in the family. She made much of my junior and senior year…interesting, what with my unofficial job as babysitter for both kids. Rox and Nami had no clue what to do with themselves at that point, and Mom and Dad could only shake their heads and accept that they were becoming grandparents again. Honestly, I did too.

"They're gonna miss their uncle, you know," he said.

"Aww, Rox, it's okay to tell me you're gonna miss me," I joked.

"Shut it, you dork," was his reply, although there was no vitriol behind it and he was, in fact, smiling a bit wistfully. I smiled back.

"Don't worry, it won't be for a while. I'll stick around for the summer and move in the fall, right around when Kairi does. So that's at least three months or so that I'll still be here."

"It'll only take you the summer to get on your feet?" Roxas asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, Dad said he'll take care of some of my bills and such for the first few months and Mom said she'll handle the actual moving. Truth be told, I don't really have the time to wait until I'm truly on my feet. But no way am I losing my job just because I can't make it out of Destiny," I told him, scratching at the back of my head sheepishly. While I would have preferred to do all this myself, the extra help was much welcome.

"I see. Well, it may be too soon to say this now, but…good luck. I know you're finally achieving your dreams here," he smiled. Naminé joined in.

"Same from me. I know you'll succeed."

"Thanks, you guys. I can't believe it myself, but you're right!"

And right they were. It took a lot to get to this point, but I just had a feeling… Everything was going to turn out just fine.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: For those who might not remember, you can find Jessie at the Accessory Shop in Twilight Town in KH2.

This actually isn't the same as the original chapter that I wrote. The Afterward was going to include Kairi as well, but I figured it was a little unnecessary after I'd already established her and Sora's happy ending. Instead, I made it focus more on Sora becoming independent and finally reaching his goals. There were also extra little things left out like how Kairi got accepted into the Luca acting troupe and such. After all this time, though…yeah I just wanted to get these chapters out as soon as possible. I think it still turned out fine, but hey you guys are the ones reading it, so I'd love to hear what you think.

And thank you again for sticking through until the end. You guys are so freaking awesome!