Solace

A/N: For Day 2 of SoKai Week, and inspired in part by a post by sokai over on tumblr about Sora reaching a point of exhaustion and turning to Kairi for rest and solace. Enjoy!

As the daughter of the mayor, every boy in town knew better than to so much as come within two hundred feet of Kairi's house after dark.

All except Sora, that is. Well, he knew better, he just didn't care. Which was why Kairi's evening took an abrupt turn one Tuesday night.

In most ways, it was an evening much like other evenings. She'd had no missions lately, so the rare period of peace and quiet meant she'd returned to school.

She was studying for a science test before going to bed, and her usual glass of water was perched on the bedside table for easy access during the night. The weather had been getting warmer lately, but not so warm that she had to use the air conditioning yet, so the window was open to let the cool breeze in instead.

Which was how Sora climbed up the side of the house and stumbled into her room.

Her jaw dropped at the sight of him. "Sora? What are you doing here?" she hissed. "Are you—?"

That was when she realized how tired he looked. Just downright exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and an overall air of weariness hanging about him. Even his spiky hair seemed to droop.

Slamming her textbook shut, she hurried to his side, and he managed a weak "Kairi" before collapsing into her arms. With a good deal of hemming and hawing (he'd long since surpassed her in size), she dragged him over to her bed and laid him on it.

As she pulled his shoes off and tossed them to the ground, she noticed the telltale signs of battle – hands rubbed raw from gripping the Keyblade for too long, a cut here, a scrape there, mud lingering on his clothes, sweat dripping off his face and neck.

Yup, he was a mess. But he'd come to her for help, so help him she would. Thankfully, a quick survey showed he wasn't seriously injured, and her magic, though still a work in progress, could handle the few scrapes and bruises peppering his skin.

As she worked his jacket off of him to make sure she hadn't missed anything, he regained consciousness.

"Kairi?" he whispered, blue eyes vibrant against his dirty face.

She smiled and wiped a smudge of dirt off his cheek. "You came to the right place. Just get some rest, okay?" She stood, only for him to catch her hand and keep her from going very far.

"Stay with me. Please."

How could she say no when he was looking at her like that? Besides, she'd studied for the science test long enough.

"Okay."

She climbed into bed beside him, leaning against the headboard and offering her lap. Pushing down thoughts of how much her parents wouldn't approve of a boy being in her room after dark, she was surprised by how quickly Sora snuggled up to her and rested his head on her lap.

Amused, she ran her fingers through his hair. "Anything else I can do for you, lazy bum?"

"That feels good," he murmured as she continued to massage his scalp.

She chewed her lip. "Sora, what happened? I thought this latest mission wasn't supposed to end until tomorrow. Why are you—"

Too late. His breathing had already evened out into the steady rhythm of sleep. She sighed and caressed his cheek, and she could have sworn the tension left his body as she did.

"That's right," she whispered, tucking the blanket around him. "You're safe with me."

Sora woke up feeling thoroughly disoriented.

Where… am I?

His cheek was smooshed against something silky and smooth, and when he looked up, a very familiar face was staring down at him.

"Kairi?" Oh yeah. It all came back. That last battle had been kinda rough, and his brain had gone on autopilot and had brought him here instead of home.

She gave him a sleepy smile and tousled his hair. "Feeling better?"

He sat up and stretched, wincing as some pulled muscle complained. "Yeah, more or less. What time is it?"

Kairi glanced at the neon clock on her bedside table. "Eleven."

"Yikes, sorry for keeping you up." He stumbled to his feet and searched for his jacket. Spotting it on the floor nearby, he grabbed it as well as his shoes.

"Sora, what happened?" Kairi asked, giving him a concerned look.

"A battle really took it out of me. I came here instead of going home, and I don't know why. Guess it was just my sleepy brain acting up again. Sorry to bother you." He slipped the jacket on and tied his shoes. "The mission was a success though, so don't worry. I'd better get going, before your parents—"

"You don't have to go," Kairi said, drawing careful designs on her pajama pants with her finger. She met his eyes, and the doe-eyed look in hers made his heart flip-flop.

Stay the night with Kairi? That sounds awesome!

But then reality set back in, and images of the mayor walking in on his daughter with a boy in her bedroom put a quick end to any of those kinds of fantasies.

"Sorry, but nah. Your dad would kill me if he knew I was here."

"He doesn't have to know."

Sora gulped. Kairi wasn't making this easy, not at all.

"You're dirty and beat up," she said, playing with the top button of her pajama shirt. "At least take a shower before you go."

Sora raised his eyebrow. "What, so you can join me?"

She grinned and winked. "You wish."

"No, you wish," he said, and he must have done something right with his tone or his expression, because her cheeks flushed and her hand went to her necklace the way it always did when she was surprised.

It was nice to know he'd gotten good enough at this whole flirting thing to get a reaction out of her. But he really did need to get home. As tantalizing as the prospect of staying with Kairi was, that hadn't been his real reason for going to her. Neither had sleep deprivation.

No, what he'd really wanted had been rest. Comfort. Solace. She could succor him in a way no one else could, and that had been what had driven him to her side.

"Kairi, thank you," he said, leaning over the bed and hugging her. "I feel a lot better now."

It was true. Even just holding her like this was really soothing.

"Good," she said, hugging him back. "I'm always with you, Sora. Never forget that."

"I won't." He said goodnight, and as he climbed out the window, he wondered if there would come a time when he didn't have to sneak around like this, a time when he could say goodnight and fall asleep with her in his arms with no risk of parents yelling at them and no classmates gossiping about it the next day.

"Sure would be nice," he muttered. But they were young, too young; and it was times like these that he wished they were just a little bit older.

But hey, it wasn't all bad. They might have to wait for now, but even just being around her was great. Her presence was his solace, and when she was by his side, in spirit if not always in reality—

He knew he could take on the worlds.