A.U. I wasn't really sure how to imagine Soras rescue mission, since I haven't really understood the power of waking...So I just used the part where he's floating through the darkness and finds everyone's hearts and then Kairi.

Kiss me Once

The whole journey started the day he lost her. And every time he found her, she slips away again. Now she out there, all alone. Everyone's happy and want to leave, but not Sora. Couldn't they see that nothing was alright? It was not over yet! There was still something very important he had to do. He won't let Kairi be alone for a second longer.

They were only worried about him and not her and he couldn't understand. She was obviously more important than him! It's not just because she's the love of his life, but she was their friend, a great keyblade wielder and most importantly one of the princesses of hearts. They couldn't afford to lose her.

After assuring that they'll come back together, he used the power of waking again to chase after Kairis heart. He just had to bring her back! And it didn't matter what might happen to him. If the king was right and he won't be able to come back, but managed to bring Kairi back then it was okay for him.

Everything's better than a life without her. He just needed to look for the light in the dark, just like the last time. Actually it wasn't very difficult finding the light. It's just like Tifa once said. And with Kairi being a princess of hearts, her light was even brighter than normal.

"Kairi!" He called desperately, trying to get as fast to the little light as possible. "Kairi, where are you?!" He needed to find her heart! The light became slightly brighter and now he understood why it looked so faint before. Tons of heartless were surrounding a heart. But they couldn't get it because it was full of light. It must be Kairis heart!

Even though he knew the heartless couldn't take her heart, he was still furious. "Stay away from Kairis heart!" He yelled, summoning his keyblade to fight off the dark creatures. Once they were gone —for now— he reached out for the heart. Before he could touch it, Kairi materialized looking asleep. "Kairi!"

If anyone could see him now, they'd probably say he's swimming through the darkness. What else should he do to be faster?! When he was finally close enough he wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her into a hug. "Kairi...!" Even though she was now save in his arms Sora still felt desperate.

She needed to wake up! They had to go back! And then they could finally be together! "Wake up...! Please..." Sora felt tears forming in his eyes, when he didn't get a response from her. No, he couldn't lose her...Not like this. Not ever. "Sora..." His heart jumped happily, when he heard her whisper.

Sora pulled back enough to look at her face and saw her eyes slowly opening. "Kairi." She looked into his eyes, obviously confused. "What happened?" Sora gulped, he couldn't bring himself to tell her. Or to relive the worst thing that ever happened to both of them. "I...It doesn't matter. We just need to go back now."

There was just a little problem there. Now that he found her and knew she's okay he felt his strength leaving him slowly but surely. "We're here again." She realized after looking around a bit. Meanwhile, Sora looked for another source of light to go to. It didn't really matter in which world they'll end up on, as long as they're back in the realm of light for good. Kairi apparently knew what he's looking for and pointed in a direction. "There." The light was faint and hard to see in the darkness, but it was there. "It'll bring us back to the Islands."

Sora wanted to ask her how she knew it, but then decided just to trust her. She knew what she's doing. "Let's go then." Taking her hand, they flew to the faint light source. On their way there, he could feel her eyes on him. At first he tried to pretend to not notice, but then he eventually looked at her. "What's wrong? What happened this time?" She asked worried, squeezing his hand.

It's now that he realized that his tears spilled. Sora quickly wiped them away and smiled at her. "I'm just happy to see you're alright." He couldn't help but feel bad though. He's promised Kairi to keep her save and what happened? He let Xemnas take her and Master Xehanort kill her...Sora shut his eyes tightly as a sob escaped him.

He felt Kairi hand squeeze him again, but it didn't reassure him this time. Maybe she'd be better off without him. Kairis always in danger because of him and he didn't want her to go through this time and time again. "Sora...?"

"I broke my promise." The redhead just tilted her head to the side. "I said I'd keep you safe but I failed. You just ended up here because of me." She squeezed his hand tighter, making him look up to her. "I don't remember how we ended up here, but you're here aren't you? You found me and now everything's gonna be fine again. After we defeated Xehanort of course."

"He is defeated." Kairis eyes widened in shock. "What? I missed the big fight?" Sora looked away again, when he remembered seeing her being struck down once again. Then he stopped suddenly. Not because he didn't want to go further, but his strength left him completely. "Sora?"

"I can't...I can't keep going." Is this why he might not come back? Yeah, chasing after a certain heart was tiring, maybe it's also the darkness that affected him that much, but...Now that he found her...Maybe he had to stay here after all? Maybe even find another way? But as long as Kairi can get through, he'll be fine. "What are you talking about? Come on!" Sora could hear the frightened tone in her voice and his heart clenched painfully.

Her grip on his hand tightened and she tried to pull him along. "I don't have any strength. You have to go without me." She refused to let go of him though. "No! I won't leave you here!"

"It's okay. Go back to the others. I'll catch up. Promise." Sora tried giving her a reassuring smile, but even he could tell it looked totally fake. How could he promise something he wasn't sure he could keep? He really wanted her to be a big part in his life and vice versa...But it wasn't really important what happened to him. As long as Kairi could get out of here, he could fall into the darkness for all he cared.

"Kairi, let go." He pleaded when saw Kairi won't let go of his hand anytime soon. "No!" Now it was her turn to start crying and at this sight Sora could feel his heart breaking into tiny pieces. "Please, Kairi, you need to get out of here."

"Not without you!" This time, instead of dragging him with her she pulled him into a hug. Sora hugged her back, practically feeling himself being soaked into the darkness, but Kairi's light prevented it from actually happening.

The worst thing was that he never even told her how he felt for her. They may have shared a paopu before all this, but he never had the guts to just say it. He felt like they both know it already as they share the fruit, but it's not enough. "Kairi..." Cupping her face with his hands, he made her look at him. She just waited at him expectantly with big, teary eyes. "I love you." Her tears spilled the second he finally said it.

Their destinies were officially intertwined now, there needs to be a way for him to come back to her. Sora wiped her tears away with his thump and slowly —slow enough to give her time to pull back— leaned in. He let his lips gently brush hers, as if he's afraid that she'll break or suddenly disappear if he's being too rough with her.

And he didn't have to wait long for her response. Sora could feel her hands going up to his neck to pull him closer to her. The redhead kissed him back, not quite as gentle but still with all her heart. He could feel it. Sora followed her lead and put all his heart and soul into this one kiss.

Now it wasn't quite as bad to float in the darkness with her. It's like he told her: he really did feel strong with her. And it's not because of her light enveloping him like a fluffy blanket. He'd gladly admit that most of his power came from her. Losing his friends was bad enough, but losing her... was something completely different. He wasn't sure if he could ever live without her, but still if he had to choose to for her to stay here or send her back, he'd always send her back. She definitely deserved better than this.

But maybe that wouldn't be an option anymore, because since they started kissing he could feel his strength coming back to him. And he was sure it's not just because of their love for each other, but Kairis powers as the princess of hearts. She really had some impressive powers...

They parted, slightly breathless and stared into each other's eyes. "I love you, too, Sora." She said and her words made Soras heart swell with joy and love for the girl in his arms. The spikey-haired boy pulled her as close as physically possible, leaning his head on top of hers and breathing in her sweet scent. At the same time, Kairi buried her face in the crook of his neck.

They stayed like that what felt like an eternity, just snuggling with each other. When Sora opened his eyes, he saw them both practically glowing in a bright light. It even made the darkness around them shatter. In the next second they found each other in a world, floating in the air. The sky was beautifully blue and the sun temporarily blinded him.

And then they're falling. They lost their grip on each other then and fell towards the sea. "Sora!" Kairi called, holding her hand out to him as she fell. "Kairi!" The boy tried to control his fall and get closer to her. When his hand finally made contact with hers, he tried to pull her closer and tightened his grip on her to make sure they won't separate again.

As they came closer to the water surface, Sora summoned his keyblade and stopped their fall with aero magic. The little tornado caught them, but Sora still held Kairi close to him and prepared to fall first into the water, additionally taking as much of Kairi's fall as possible.

Even in the water they didn't let go of their hands and swam up together. After breaking the surface again, the couple smiled at each other. They did it! Then Sora finally took in their surroundings and realized that they landed right in Destiny Islands! Okay, Kairi's powers were not impressive. They're absolutely incredible!

"We're home!" Said Kairi happily and her mood was just as infectious as a cold. "It's because of your light, Kairi." Grinning widely, Sora hugged her a last time —after letting the keyblade vanish— before they swam to the shore.

"You're amazing, Kairi! I have no idea how you did this, but it was amazing!" Said Sora when they finally felt the sand under their feet. "I did nothing..." She replied, thinking about what she did to bring them back. "All I did was wishing we'd come back together."

"That's all it takes!" Soras grin widened, admiring Kairi and her powers. "If you can save me from the darkness by just believing in it, then it's only logical that wishing for something will come true." Kairi returned his grin and hugged him. "I'm glad it worked then."

Until that day the whole gang met up regularly to hang out. None of them wanted to lose the strong connection they had with each other and they'd always meet up in another world. This time they were on the island. Especially Naminé and Roxas were happy with their own lives.

Occasionally Sora and Kairi sneaked away to have some time for themselves. They sat together on the paopu tree, holding hands and not noticing the many eyes on them. It was nice to just sit there and watching the sun set. They didn't need to talk, because they could get their feelings across without words.

At some point Soras attention was on Kairi, watching her glow in the sun light and memorizing her face, the blue of her eyes, her soft red hair...Sora sighed contentedly, earning Kairis attention. She tilted her head but kept smiling at him, asking him silently what's up. He just put an arm around her to answer her question and pulled her closer. Kairi's eyes shone beautifully in the reddish light. He couldn't hold himself back anymore and kissed her gently.

The redhead returned the kiss and Sora kinda wished they never had to stop. But they eventually needed to part to breath. Not ready to get too far away from from Kairi, he touched her forehead with hears, staring lovingly into her eyes. "I love you, Kairi."

"I love you, too, Sora."