Author's Notes: This takes place in a hypothetical post-KH3. Sora and Kairi are 16 or 17; Riku 17 or 18. Not too important which one.

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Prompt: "No one said that you're crazy. We're all just…planning on whispering it to each other later."

Kairi looked at each of her friends gathered in front of her. She stopped in the middle of her sentence. Her hands lowered back down to her sides as she took in their expressions. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?" she accused after a beat.

Her friends exchanged glances. She bit back a sigh because she could see it in their faces. They totally thought she was crazy. And honestly, she couldn't blame them. Kairi could admit it to herself. Her plan was ridiculous and far-fetched; there was no getting around that. However, after all the subtle and blunt hints without success, she was running out of options. Kairi was one hundred percent done waiting.

Selphie stepped forward with hesitant steps. She placed her hands on Kairi's shoulders. "No one said that you're crazy," she said, looking into Kairi's eyes. She bit her bottom lip before she added, "We're all just…planning on whispering it to each other later."

"Okay, guys," Riku burst out. He moved toward Kairi, unfolding his arms from across his chest. "Clear out. I've got this." He brushed Selphie aside as he wrapped his hand around Kairi's wrist. Tugging her along behind him, he dragged her away from their friends. Kairi struggled to keep up as Riku's growth spurts made him tower over her. Sometimes (like now), he forgot that she had to take almost two steps for each of his one.

They didn't go far but the others were still out of sight when Riku finally stopped. He dropped her wrist and sank to the ground. Kairi hesitated for a moment before she sat down on the sand, too. She was more in front of Riku than beside him as she curled her legs under her. Wringing her hands in her lap, she dropped her eyes away. Her teeth caught her bottom lip as she waited for Riku to tell her how stupid she was being.

Silence reigned another moment until Riku spoke. "What's really wrong, Kairi? Why the elaborate plan? Why don't you just tell Sora how you feel?"

"I can't," Kairi admitted in a voice barely audible.

"Kairi, look at me." His voice was so gentle that Kairi found her eyes lifting without thought. A half-smile rested on his lips, and his eyes were soft as he gazed at her. Riku was so much kinder than he used to be. Kairi found her back straightening as the thought hit her. Not that he was ever unkind exactly, but she found he was more gentle than he had been. His experiences had tempered him. While he was still as likely to throw out a sarcastic quip, the sharp edges were all but gone now.

"Sora is my best friend," he said. "I would follow him into the deepest heart of darkness if he needed me. But I will be the first to admit he is not the most perceptive guy around." Riku chuckled. "Especially about certain things. All of this…plan stuff…will go right over his head." He leaned forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know it may be hard, but you should just tell him." That familiar smirk appeared on his lips before he added, "I mean, we all know that he's been in love with you since he was like five."

Kairi shook her head. "I can't," she repeated.

Riku sighed and leaned back again. "Kairi," he started.

But Kairi interrupted him. "No, you don't understand. I can't because I already tried!" she blurted. Her cheeks heated, so she knew they must a bright red now. Lifting her hands up, she clasped them over her face to hide it. She couldn't believe she admitted it to him. Kairi wanted to pretend the entire thing hadn't happened at all.

"What?"

Since she was covering her face, she couldn't see his expression. But his flat tone was more than enough to convey his incredulousness. Kairi dropped her hands back to her lap. She avoided eye contact with him as she explained. "We were sitting on the dock, the sun was setting, and, I don't know, he just looked so adorable with that stupid happy grin he has, you know the one, so I blurted out, 'Sora, I like you'."

She chanced a look at Riku as she took a breath. His expression was blank with a hint of bemusement. "And?" he prompted.

Kairi sighed. Her whole body sagged. "And then he did that thing where he rubs the back of his head and said, 'Geez, Kairi, really? I like you, too'."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay," he said as he opened his eyes again. "I'm not sure why the whole plan thing was necessary…"

When Kairi realized that he still wasn't getting it, she interjected, "That was three weeks ago. You tell me, Riku, what has changed since then? Because from what I've seen, absolutely nothing."

Riku stared at her. He opened his mouth but closed it again after a second. He started to rub his forehead, and she could hear him mumble something under his breath. She wasn't close enough to make out exactly what it was. "Maybe you weren't blunt enough," he suggested.

Kairi raised her eyebrow as she leveled him with a single look. "What could be blunter than 'Sora, I like you'?"

"I see your point." He shrugged. "You could just kiss him."

"That is the most crazy, ridiculous…genius thing I have ever heard," Kairi said, changing her tone halfway through. It was crazy, but Riku had a point. There wasn't anything subtle about it. She tapped her finger against her chin as she contemplated the pros and cons of that plan.

"Well, here's your chance."

"Wait, what?"

"Kairi! Riku!"

Kairi whipped her head to watch Sora running up to them. That stupid adorable grin was on his face, and Kairi felt her heart clench at the sight.

Then, she panicked.

While she could admit Riku's plan had merit, she wasn't mentally prepared to execute it at that exact moment. "What do I do?" she hissed at Riku. She clenched her skirt in her hands as she watched Sora get closer and closer to them.

Riku covered his mouth with the side of his hand as he chuckled. She almost hit him for laughing. This was a serious problem. "Sora's a simple guy at heart. You'll think of something." He started getting to his feet.

Kairi gaped at him. "That's the best you can do? You're a Keyblade Master and the most you can give me is 'you'll think of something'?" she accused. That was zero help whatsoever. She didn't know why she asked him in the first place.

Riku leaned over and placed a hand on her shoulder again. "You're a princess. Take charge."

"Take charge of what?"

Kairi jumped at Sora's voice. Riku laughed and straightened. "Don't worry about it, Sora," he said. He patted his friend on the shoulder as he walked past him. Kairi's heart pounded in her chest.

He was leaving her.

Alone.

With Sora.

Why was she friends with Riku again?

"Hey, where are you going?" Sora called after him. Riku didn't answer beyond a wave of his hand and kept walking. Sora scratched the side of his head. "That was weird," he muttered. He placed both hands behind his head and turned to her with that grin. "Hey, Kairi."

She didn't know what to say. Was she supposed to do it now? How did she go about kissing him? While her mind turned the situation over and over in her mind, Sora held out his hand to help her up. Without thinking about it too much, she placed her hand in his. Because she wasn't paying attention, however, when Sora pulled on her hand, she wasn't ready for it.

So, she stumbled into Sora's chest when she got pulled up. His other arm wrapped around her waist to steady her. When his arm tightened, it pressed her flush against him. She locked eyes with him and knew her face was a mirror of his flushed shock.

Well, she wanted an opportunity. This was the kind of opportunity that only happened in movies, but she wasn't about to complain. All she had to do was rise up on her tiptoes. Just close that little space, and she would accomplish her goal.

Something warm pressed against her lips for a moment.

It took Sora pulling away and looking at her with a sheepish smile for her to realize what had happened. Sora kissed her. Her mind blanked out everything except that thought.

Sora kissed her.

This was not the way it was supposed to happen. As Sora unwrapped his arm from around her, a tiny voice in her head wondered why the heck she was complaining because Sora kissed her. Her brain finally caught up with her when Sora took a step away. Her hand reached out and gripped his wrist. Sora turned back to her in silent question. "What was that?" she demanded.

"Oh," he said. His face fell and his shoulders drooped. "You didn't mean that kind of like?"

Riku was right. Sora was a simple guy. But Kairi was not following him at all. "What? Sora, what are you talking about?"

"What you said…three weeks ago?" And it was absolutely endearing that he counted it on his fingers. "When you said you liked me, I thought you meant love like not just like like, so I assumed…"

"Assumed what?" Her voice was breathless. She didn't want to hope, but his words were doing strange things to her heart. She knew what it sounded like he was implying, but it was too much to hope.

Sora twisted his lips. "That you were my girlfriend now?" His eyes widened. "But you didn't, did you? And I just kissed you!" He pressed his hands together in front of him and closed his eyes. "Kairi, I am so sorry. I didn't know you didn't mean it like that. I would have never—I mean, I would have liked to, of course, because I meant the love like not the like like. And it's okay if you didn't mean the love like, I don't want to force you into anything—"

"You have got to be kidding me," Kairi interrupted Sora's rambling. "You've thought of me as your girlfriend for three weeks?"

He peaked his eye open. "Umm…yes?" Sora cringed like he expected her to hit him.

"So, I could have kissed you at any time since then and you would have been totally okay with it?"

Sora's head tilted to the side. He relaxed, dropping his hands back to his sides. "I guess?" he said in a questioning tone as he tugged on one of the spikes of his hair. "I mean, if you had kissed me before that I probably wouldn't have complained, because I've only loved you forever—mep!"

She would tease him about that squeak for the rest of his life. But right now, she focused on her lips moving across his and her fingers curled up in his shirt. Sora's reflexes kicked in after a second. His warm calloused hands caressed her cheeks on the way to dig into her hair. He pressed closer to her, and she tilted her head, letting him take control.

When air became a problem, Kairi slowly broke away from his lips. His panting breath matched her own. Sora rested his forehead against her as he breathed, "Wow, Kairi." She couldn't help it. She giggled. Kairi leaned back and flicked Sora on the forehead. His hand clapped onto the spot. "Ow," he muttered with a frown. "What was that for?"

"You're a dork," she said. She clasped her hands behind her back as she began to walk away.

As he caught up to her, he asked, "What? Why?"

Kairi shook her head as she released a laughing breath from her nose. "Never mind," she said. She reached out her hand and grasped his hand, entangling her fingers with his. She smiled up at him, pouring in all the love she felt for him.

He returned her smile with that stupid bright grin she adored just so much. They walked hand in hand across the beach as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Later, she relayed the story to Riku. Where Sora couldn't hear because she could save her boyfriend the immediate teasing at least. She knew Riku would eventually find some way to hang this over Sora's head forever. But she could delay it a little.

Riku didn't stop laughing for ten minutes.