They sat in silence on the arched Papu palm.
Out of the corner of her eye she looked over at Sora, who was looking out over the sea.
He grinned contentedly and the wind played with his hair.
She herself had to smile at the sight, and yet a lump formed in her throat that she couldn't swallow.
She just couldn't put into words the burgeoning emotions floating around in her head.
Was it because they sat alone on the beach of fate and watched the sunset together?

Yes, it was sometimes one of the reasons why she didn't dare break the silence between them.
Kairi actually knew exactly why she was getting so hot and cold at the same time.
Why she was more nervous than usual around him and consciously changed topics in a group as soon as they were mentioned together.
She was hopelessly and madly in love with Sora and had been for a very, very long time.
One might think that after a certain period of time such feelings subside if they are not reciprocated. But it wasn't like that. Definitely not for Kairi, on the contrary.

When she thought about it like that, that feeling has intensified inside her immensely.
She thought back to the festival in Corona when they danced with Eugene and Rapunzel in the market square.
When, as usual, he gave her a wide and happy smile and asked her to dance.
How he turned her in a circle and felt his large, warm hands on his hips and on her hand. His touch was almost like fire, so warm she was constantly.
On that day he radiated so much happiness and happiness that he infected other people with it.
She herself had been overjoyed that day. Just to have been by your side without having to think directly about heartless people or nobody. She felt free and weightless, not only because Sora had lifted her in the air, but because Xehanort was finally defeated.

Kairi also remembered the day when it didn't look good for her for a moment and almost had to plead for her life from Master Xehanort himself. Her fingers unconsciously clenched at the memory.
Luckily, Sora acted at the right moment and freed her from the clutches of Xehanort before suffocating from lack of oxygen.
She noticed how charged and furious Sora looked as she gasped for breath and gave his enemy a gloomy look.
That he threatened Xehanort was more than understandable, but she had never heard him cursing and seen him in such a rage as she had that day.
And that's only because Xehanort had attacked her. She couldn't get those sad and worried eyes of Sora out of her head, which she caught when he asked about her.

But above all, she remembered the beautiful and moving moments she shared with Sora.
From childhood to today. Her eyes stealthily peeked over at him again and caught she noticed that he was also looking at her, or looked directly at her.
"Are you okay, Kairi?" He asked her instead, and in response he received a quick nod from her.
"I'm glad.", He grinned at her, as so often, with his charming smile and averted his gaze from her again. However, she continued to stare at him out of the corner of her eye. Almost languishing, one could say.
Kairi then looked ahead. You could only see a little corner of the sun and the first fireflies were already shining slightly around it.

She swallowed hard and dared to slide a little closer to him.
She had directed her gaze to the ground. She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes briefly.
"Sora?", He carefully turned his attention to her."Yes?", She nervously cupped the hem of her dress and her eyes were still on the floor.
"I ..." she began hesitantly and a sigh escaped her throat.
"It's nice, isn't it?", She changed the subject and looked out over the open sea. The sun had already set and turned the clouds a shimmering purple. Following her gaze, Sora nodded weakly.
"Yes. It is.", He confirmed and disappointed in himself, she let her shoulders sag.
"Kairi."
"Yes, Sora?", She looked at him hopefully and realized that he had clasped his hands together.
The fireflies that were buzzing around in the air created a pleasant atmosphere and made their faces shine bright every now and then.
"To be honest, I don't know how to tell you.", Sora started and twiddled her thumbs while the redhead tried to figure him out.
"What? You can tell me everything. That's what friends are for."
"That's it," he said with a groan and scratched his head.
"I want to be honest with you." He turned to her and gently took her hands in his.
She looked at him perplexed and nodded weakly. Her cheeks turned a slight shade of red.
"I ... I ..." he paused and ran his tongue over his dry lips.
"It's okay. Was ... not that important anyway.", He said shortly afterwards and let go of her hands. Kairi took his hands again out of the affect and looked at them in amazement.

"Kairi?"
"Do you know the feeling that your body suddenly becomes so hot as if you had a fever or as cold as if you had chills?" She burst out uncertainly and both stared intensely into each other's eyes. Nobody dared to break eye contact.
"That your heart starts racing so fast, as if you had finished a marathon?", Sora nodded her head barely noticeably and spoke up herself.
"Or does your heart contract painfully when the person you are very close to is injured on the floor?", Kairi pressed her lips together tightly and blinked away a few emerging tears while she nodded in agreement.
Then they just looked at each other in silence, only their eyes spoke volumes.
Sora finally brought her hands to his chest and put them there.
Faintly she could feel the rapid heartbeat through his shirt and it was no different when he gently cupped her face with his hands. He leaned his forehead against hers and the tips of their noses were just touching.
They stayed in that position for half a minute, just staring at each other like in a competition.
"Sora .--"
"[/i]I love you, Kairi.[/i]", he interrupted her in a slightly rough and flat voice. The lump that had formed in her throat swallowed her down and her eyes widened in disbelief. She opened her mouth a crack. Without waiting for an answer from her, he closed the distance between her lips and tilted his head to one side. A little surprised, Kairi let herself into it and pressed her lips towards him. Her fingers clutched his top as she did so. Inside she was getting hot, as if she were practically on fire and a thousand fireworks ignited at once. The kiss did not last long, however, and how numb they let go of each other.
Sora lost her balance and fell backwards from the tree.

"Sora!", Startled she slid down from the tree and knelt down next to the young man.
"Are you okay?"
Lying on his back, he looked at her and screwed up one eye.
"Atatata. Yes, everything is fine. You are just amazing.", He complimented and grinned from ear to ear.
He apparently succeeded in his attempt at flirting when her cheeks turned a menacing shade of red and she playfully nudged him against his arm."You charmer.", She said limp and smiled cheerfully. Both then began to laugh out loud and enjoyed each other's closeness.
When Sora made no move to get up, she lay down next to him and stared into the starry night sky.
"I feel the same way.", she confessed to him in a whisper, but he understood her.
"I noticed that," he countered boldly and turned his head to her side. He looked her in the eye.
Her face was almost like an overripe tomato, which he could easily see thanks to the fireflies.
"You are mean.", Pouting she twisted her mouth and felt searching the sandy ground to take his hand.
When she wrapped it around contentedly, she turned her gaze to heaven. He did the same and the fireflies danced cheerfully overhead.

"Sora?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you.", confused he blinked.
"For what?
"For everything.", She replied softly and a grin played around the corners of her mouth.
Instead of answering her, he smiled and there was a pleasant silence for a brief moment until she sat up and looked down at him.
He looked at her questioningly.
"Is everything o. -", he did not finish his sentence, he was too overwhelmed for that and that only because she put a kiss on his forehead.
"Yes. Everything is okay now.", She reassured him timidly and Sora sat cross-legged next to her.
A lascivious grin spread across his face and a firefly flew past their faces, which made Kairi's heart beat faster.
Kairi then looked past Sora and her gaze stayed on the main island.
"We should return home slowly, Sora.", The named nodded in confirmation and stood up. He held out his hand to her, which she took receptively and he pulled her up with ease. As they went to the boats, neither of them exchanged a word. They just enjoyed being close to each other.

Arrived at the jetty, Kairi was horrified to discover that her boat had probably kissed the seabed. Her boat was nowhere to be found.
"Oh dear."
"Don't worry. Just come along with me." He climbed into his boat and again gave her his hand, which she took hesitantly, but then cockily.
Sora then released the rope from the jetty and rowed towards the main island.
"Should I.-"
"I'll do it. It's my boat after all.", Kairi didn't want to leave the work to him alone and help him, but it seemed he didn't need it.
Then there was silence again. Only the rush of the water while Sora paddled could be heard and the fireflies that apparently followed them gave them light on the way.

She looked over at Sora, who was staring dreamily up at the starry sky.
Her whole body became hot again and a tingling sensation made itself felt in the stomach area.
The sight literally melted her, which is why she sighed in infatuation.
"Sora?"
"Yes, Kairi?"
"Always stay the way you are."
Suddenly Sora stopped rowing and looked at him puzzled.

In the reflection of the water you could see how Sora had leaned over to her and closed the distance between them again.
He