Scar

Sora first noticed it happening at the beach.

He and Kairi and Riku hadn't been swimming together in ages. Not since before they'd left Destiny Islands.

So when Kairi suggested they all wear their swimsuits to the Play Island the next day, Sora was more than happy to oblige. It was going to be just like old times. He wondered if he was a faster swimmer than Riku now, or if he could hold his breath longer than Kairi.

Too bad Donald isn't here right now. It would kinda be cheating to ask him to turn me into my Atlantica form, wouldn't it?

When he tied his rowboat up at the dock, Riku and Kairi were already there. They were tossing a brightly colored beach ball back and forth, and as soon as Riku saw Sora, he grinned and tossed the ball his way.

"Catch!" he called.

"Sora!" Kairi turned around, and Sora missed the ball completely. It nailed him in the face instead.

Kairi giggled into her hand, and Sora couldn't help but keep staring. Her red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the purple bikini top she wore looked good. Really good. So did the black shorts hugging her hips.

Yeah, he knew she'd changed, he knew she was older; he knew she was taller and curvier and even prettier than before.

But still. It was one thing to know all of these things and another to see them right in front of him. Looking at her made him even more aware of how he'd changed, too.

He was taller and stronger. His voice was lower and his chest was broader and his muscles were bigger and seeing her like this made him feel funny things. Things that were strange and exciting and new, things he didn't know what to do with.

"You okay there?" she asked, a teasing smile on her face. The dash of freckles across her nose and cheeks had returned after all the time they'd spent in the sun lately.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Y-yeah."

After applying another thick layer of sunscreen to her pale skin, she splashed into the water after Riku. Sora grinned and took his t-shirt off, ready to join them.

He jumped in, and the salt water was refreshingly cool against his hot skin. When he ducked his head underwater, the saline rinsed over his face and hair and eyes. It felt so good to be home.

He swam over to where Riku and Kairi were waiting for him. He had the perfect idea.

"Race you!"

It was close, and there was a lot of splashing and grabbing onto his opponents' limbs and flailing around and dragging each other underwater, but Riku still won.

"No fair." Sora pouted. Even after all the growing he'd done in the past year, he still wasn't as fast as Riku.

It was Riku's arms. No one should be allowed to have biceps that big. Sora looked at his own, firm and wiry and toned, but not anywhere near as impressive as Riku's. He crossed his arms and sighed, much to Riku's amusement.

I can't win. I can't beat biology.

That was the first time he noticed Kairi looking at him. Well not at him, not exactly. At his body. Yeah, he'd been checking her out earlier too, but all the same, feeling her admiring eyes work their way across his body brought a flush to his cheeks that had nothing to do with the hot summer sun.

But then something else flickered through her eyes. Her lips pulled into a tight line and her eyebrows knit together.

She was frowning, frowning at his body, and Sora felt the overwhelming urge to duck underwater. Instead he settled for going after the beach ball.

Did she see… did she see something she doesn't like? He grabbed the beach ball and hugged it to his chest. He'd never felt ashamed of his own body before, not really.

Did all of these new changes make him feel awkward? Well, yeah, of course. He constantly had to readjust his reach and he was always bumping into things and Donald often complained about all the stuff he'd accidentally knocked over.

And that didn't even get into all the strange new feelings and thoughts he'd had lately. And sure, those made him blush, which was something Donald and Goofy loved to tease him about.

But ashamed? No. And yet, what he was feeling right now… it felt an awful lot like shame. He had no other way to describe it.

It wasn't till he was home from the beach and looking at himself in the mirror that he realized.

Oh.

There it was. The Keyhole-shaped scar engraved over his heart. He traced the outlines of it, the raised, bumpy skin that was a different color than the rest of his chest and always would be.

Donald's magic normally kept it hidden. But the magic must have faded without his friend there to maintain it.

It wasn't that he minded the scar. He wasn't embarrassed or ashamed of it, either. If anything, it was a symbol of what Kairi meant to him, and he wore it proudly.

He'd kept it hidden out of consideration for his friends. The first time Donald and Goofy had seen it, they'd both looked like they'd wanted to cry, so after that he'd asked Donald to cover it up for him.

But now Kairi had seen it, and he really wished she hadn't. He understood what that look in her eyes was now.

He sighed. "Guess I won't be swimming with my shirt off anymore."

They went swimming again that weekend. Sora waded into the waves, and Riku raised his eyebrow at his attire.

"Aren't you going to take your shirt off? It'll be a lot harder to race with it on. C'mon, I want to at least pretend you have a fair shot at beating me. Otherwise it's no fun."

Oh, fine. Sora tore it off and sent it hurtling back onto the shore. He plunged into the water before Kairi had the chance to see the scar again.

As long as I keep my chest underwater, it'll be okay.

But it was easy to forget about being careful when the beach ball got involved. Soon the three of them were embroiled in a ruthless match of keep away. Kairi sent the ball flying through the air towards Sora, and he couldn't just let Riku catch it.

He jumped out of the water, and as soon as his arms went around the ball, he realized his mistake.

Kairi had seen the scar again. Their eyes met for a split second, and hers were sad. Sad and hurt, like she couldn't stand the sight of it.

But there was something else in her eyes too, something he couldn't quite place. He fell back into the water with a loud splash, and the moment was over.

He couldn't be sure, but that something—

It had kinda looked like awe.

He was more careful the next time they went swimming. Sure, it meant that he ended up in the middle of their game of keep away a lot more than he would have liked, and getting out of the middle once he got in was nearly impossible.

But he hadn't caught Kairi's eyes on the scar at all, and he'd checked often. Mission accomplished, the sun setting behind him, a delicious dinner waiting for him at home – when he pulled his t-shirt over his head, it was with a distinct feeling of triumph.

Only to catch Kairi right there waiting for him as soon as he'd finished putting it on.

Great.

"I'm gonna go on back. I'll see you guys tomorrow," Riku called, already untying his rowboat and climbing inside. Sora was left alone with a Kairi who couldn't quite meet his eyes.

He sighed and looked after Riku's retreating form. You knew, didn't you?

"Sora, there's something I need to talk to you about," Kairi said, and Sora tore his eyes away from Riku to look at her. She was carefully tracing patterns in the sand with her foot and still looking everywhere but into his eyes.

Yup. Here it comes. Sora braced himself for the impending conversation. It needed to be had, he just… he wasn't looking forward to having it.

Well, they were here and the elephant was trumpeting in their ears. Might as well get it over with.

"Kairi, I don't want you to—"

"Take your shirt off."

He blanched. "What?" Surely she didn't mean—

She cleared her throat. "I said, take your shirt off."

"Why?"

"Just do it!" she said, a lot louder than he was expecting.

"Okay, fine!" he shot back. She'd already seen the scar. He didn't understand why she had to look at it while they discussed it. But this conversation was awkward enough as it was. He didn't want to make it any worse by arguing with her.

She watched as he took the stupid shirt off and tossed it to the ground. There. He was laid bare before her eyes, exposed and vulnerable and all too conscious of his own body. She stared at the scar, and he couldn't take it anymore. He crossed his arms over his chest to cover it.

"Kairi, I know what you're thinking. I know this scar hurts you because it reminds you of what I went through to save you. But I don't want you to feel that way, because that's not how I see it. Not at all. For me, it's a symbol of—"

She grabbed his arms and wrenched them away from his chest, and Sora looked at her in utter bewilderment.

"Kairi, what are you—"

She bent down and kissed the scar.

Oh. Oh.

Her lips felt amazing against his skin, warmth emanating from where she'd kissed him and radiating throughout his entire body.

"Thank you," she whispered, lifting her head to finally meet his eyes. Hers were filled with gratitude, gratitude and another feeling that looked a lot like something else Sora recognized.

The air around them suddenly seemed a lot warmer and his heart felt like it was going to explode and those funny feelings from before had returned. His face flushed and the spot above his heart was on fire and it was getting harder to breathe.

He was pretty sure everything he was feeling was being broadcast loud and clear from his eyes and face and everything else. It was a good thing, too, because there was no way he could have put any of that into words, not any that made sense, anyway.

Kairi's face turned bright red, as if what she'd done hadn't fully registered until now. She stuttered and stumbled backwards, clasping at her arms and ducking her head.

When he'd recovered sufficiently to speak, he made a few failed attempts at words before managing to get something out.

"K-Kairi?"

"Yes?"

More stuttering and stumbling. But he had to put what he was thinking into words. Kairi deserved to hear it.

"Y-you know I'd do it again in a heartbeat, right?"

She looked up, her lips slightly parted. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "You would? But why?"

He put his hand on his chest. He could say this. He wanted to say this.

"Because… because you mean more to me than anything. This scar is just proof of what's been in my heart all along."

There. His words were out in the open. He smiled, and she let out a choked sound and had to take a moment to wipe her eyes.

She managed to compose herself enough to approach him again. Looking up into his eyes for permission, she removed his hand, this time slowly and gently so she could trace the scar underneath with her fingers. Her touch was soft and tender and deliberate, as if she wanted to commit every inch of it to memory.

Sora swallowed. A part of his brain still couldn't believe this was happening. He stood as still as possible, afraid that any sudden movement would spoil the moment.

She bent down and gave the scar one last kiss. When she straightened, Sora had the overpowering urge to wrap his arms around her and pull her tight and bury his face in her sun-bleached hair and—

But before he got the chance to do any of that, she turned away. A moment later, and she'd found the discarded t-shirt and had handed it back to him.

"Here. And Sora?"

"Yeah?" he asked, pulling it back on over his head and fighting the sinking feeling in his stomach. He wanted to kick himself for not acting while he had the chance.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to hide it from me. It's…" She paused and swallowed. "It's beautiful."

She smiled shyly, and his brain went back into scrambled mode. He could only make a few vaguely affirmative noises as she said goodnight and climbed into her rowboat and paddled home.

He touched the scar through his shirt and looked up at the stars.

She thinks it's beautiful. She actually thinks it's beautiful.

He giggled at the thought. No doubt Riku and Donald and Goofy would tease him about the big, stupid grin on his face if they were here right now.

Oh well. Any amount of teasing was worth the moment he and Kairi had just shared.

He wouldn't trade it for the world.

The next time they went swimming, Sora was the first to go in the water. He waded waist deep and turned around, then waited for Kairi and Riku to join him.

Kairi's eyes briefly wandered to the scar. When she met Sora's gaze, a moment of understanding passed between the two them. The sadness might still linger on, but more important than that were the awe and gratitude and adoration.

The scar was a physical reminder of what she meant to him, of the bond they shared. It was as much a part of him now as the rest of his body was. He could no sooner get rid of it than he could chop off his own arm. He could no sooner forget what she meant to him than he could make the scar disappear.

And looking at her right now, at the way she looked at him—

He wouldn't have it any other way.

A/N: This story was inspired by a post over on tumblr by sokai. Unfortunately FFN eats links so I can't link to it directly, but the meta was inspiring and I'd stewed over a similar idea for a while so I just decided to go for it. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!