Today was the big day. Sora would be taking his Mark of Mastery exam again. His palms were sweaty and his stomach was doing somersaults as memories of how poorly his first exam went flooded his brain. Funny how his complete nonchalance before that one was a complete one-eighty from how he was feeling now.

He sat outside on the steps of the Mysterious Tower, staring up at the starry skies. How many of those stars had he been to now? And yet he still didn't feel worthy of the title he would be up for in a half hour. He'd been too casual, too cocky about all this the first time around, and he couldn't afford to make the same mistake again.

"Heya," came a chipper voice from behind him. He turned his head, and sure enough, Kairi was standing there with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate in hand.

"Morning, Kairi," he said as he took one of the mugs from her, then thanked her. She sat next to him and blew on her hot chocolate to cool it down, and he did the same. The way she made it was the best, with a hint of peppermint and more than enough marshmallows to satisfy his sweet tooth.

"What's going on inside that spikey-haired head of yours?" she teased before taking a sip, her eyes sparkling. "I can practically hear the wheels turning from here."

"Just thinking about my exam."

"You're gonna do great."

He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled. "Not so sure about that."

"Why not?" she asked with a frown.

"Because I flunked my first exam pretty badly."

She gave him a knowing look as she took another sip. "That wasn't your fault, Sora. How were you supposed to know Xehanort would gang up on you?"

"I didn't, but I still should've taken the whole thing more seriously."

He sipped on his hot chocolate as he thought about everything. If only he had treated this with the seriousness it deserved, then maybe he wouldn't have lost his powers in the first place. Then he could've helped Riku and the king save Aqua earlier than he did, and then maybe he could've gotten to spend more time with Kairi, and—

"Well, the past is in the past," Kairi said, breaking through his thoughts. "You're taking things pretty seriously now, aren't you? You've been training with Terra and Riku nonstop lately."

"Yeah, but it's not about my skills or abilities. It's what's in my heart."

"And I know your heart is worthy." She poked his chest and smiled. "You've more than proved yourself, over and over again. Now all you have to do is just make it official."

"Is that really all there is to it?"

"Sora," she said, her eyes softening as she set her mug to the side, "why are you doubting yourself so much?"

He looked away. "I just…" She waited patiently, but he couldn't get the words to come out. So he plastered on a smile instead. "You know what Kairi? You're right. I'm totally gonna ace this!"

He gave her a thumbs up, but his smile wavered as he met her eyes.

"You don't have to pretend with me," she said as she found his hand. "What's on your mind?"

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "You know me too well."

"The eyes are the window to the soul, and your eyes can never lie to me. So tell me, what's troubling you?"

"I feel like a failure," he said at last. "A test that I should've passed easily stripped me of all my powers instead. I know I don't really like to talk about it, but that's because it was so… shameful, I guess. Humiliating. Getting captured like that, falling for Xehanort's trap, my heart and body getting used as a weapon against me, putting everyone else in danger because I needed rescuing—"

"Sounds familiar," Kairi said with a sad smile. "Guess that makes two of us, huh?"

His heart sank. "Kairi, no, I didn't mean to—"

"I'm not saying this to make you feel bad or to be down on myself," she promised. "I just want you to know you're not alone. You're never alone. I know how you feel, and you can always talk to me about all this. What happened to both of us is horrible, but we're stronger than our failures. And that means you can do this. You can get your Mark of Mastery today."

"Thank you," he said quietly. How was it that she always knew just what to say?

"And you know why? Because I believe in you, and I know you believe in me. So have a little faith in yourself, okay?"

He nodded, and she smiled again.

"Good. Now," she said as she brushed off his jacket, "there's something else I came out here to give you."

"What?"

"Something that's very important for your Mark of Mastery," she said, very seriously. But her twitching lips were giving her away. Before he could reply, those lips were pressing against his, soft and warm and full, and she cupped his face with her hands as she kissed him. Oh man he was gonna melt into a puddle if she wasn't careful.

"For luck," she said as she withdrew from him all too soon, cheeks flushed and eyes dancing.

"For… luck…" he echoed as he tried to sort out his scrambled brain.

She giggled and grabbed their mugs. "Now go get 'em tiger."

"Right. I got this."

Nothing like a Kairi kiss to lift his spirits. He already felt more confident in himself. There was more than one kind of magic, and she possessed it in spades and was more than happy to share it with him.

"Darn right you do," she said with a wink.

He grinned. "Yeah."

He stood up, feeling energized and ready to go. Sure, there was still a lot riding on his exam. Maybe he would fail again. But that didn't really seem to matter much anymore. With Kairi by his side, he felt like he could take on the worlds.

A/N: Thank you again captainmaws! Hope you enjoyed it! And thank you to Alja for suggesting a moment before Sora's Mark of Mastery exam for the setting.

I'm still working on the remaining couple of kiss prompts (thank you to everyone who sent them in!), but if you'd like to read the previous ones, they include, "A kiss to pretend, "A good morning kiss," "A kiss on a falling tear," "A kiss in secrecy," "A kiss in public," and "A kiss out of necessity/A kiss to wake up." Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!