Thanks for all the reviews! Here’s the next bit :)

Sunrise

He woke up just as the sun was pulling itself over the horizon. The sky melded with the sea, blazing orange, red and yellow. Mindful of Kairi, who was curled up beside him with her head on his legs, Sora sat up and watched the new morning come alive. It was going to be a beautiful day. It was strange though. The orange glow over the world was reminding him of Twilight Town, that world where everything was constantly bathed in the light of a late summer’s day.

Sora wondered if Roxas could see the sunrise of Destiny Islands. If he could, did it remind him of his old town? Or was Roxas just Sora now? No, Sora somehow felt that Roxas was still with him. So… wait a minute… What if Sora’s inner voice was actually Roxas? Sora bit his lip as he pondered. Should he start addressing his inner voice as ‘Roxas’? Sora could feel the confusion building into a headache. He frowned and decided that not thinking was the best policy.

He could almost hear Donald and Riku saying ‘no change there then.’

Sora drew in a slow breath to calm his rampant imagination and ground himself in reality once again. He watched the sun climb higher, the light calling the birds out their hidden homes. It only took a few noisy moments for Sora to decide that a life devoid of seagulls was not such a bad thing.

I’d take seagulls over pigeons any day.

“Roxas?” Hadn’t that thought been his?

There was no answer. At least, there wasn’t a verbal one. Sora held a hand to his chest with a smile. He wondered if people would think him crazy if he addressed a part of himself with another name. Then again, why shouldn’t he? After all, it wasn’t like everyone had a Nobody. It was important, Sora felt, that he shouldn’t let Roxas’ existence fade to nothing. So yes, from now on, the voice in Sora’s head that made Sora argue with himself was officially going to be thought of as Roxas.

It was a little strange though, to think that he had fought with his self literally.

“Sorry about that,” Sora said quietly, deciding that he wasn’t really talking to himself. “And… I guess I was kinda harsh about the Nobodies too. They’re not all bad. I think… I think I felt sorry for them… well, almost all of them anyway.”

“Who are you talking about?”

Startled, Sora looked at Kairi and found her rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Oh, it’s not important. Good morning.”

Kairi sat up and looked at the colours glowing over the sea and in the sky. “Sure is early.”

Sora watched her with a thoughtful expression. “Mm.”

Kairi blinked. “You’re looking at me strangely.”

“Oh! Uh…um… I…” And Kairi laughed as he blushed. “I was just remembering this thing I thought of once.” (Honestly, he’d thought of this particular thing many more times than once but decided not to tell her that).

“Something about me?” And Sora’s expression told Kairi he’d had lots of thoughts about her. “What is it?”

Sora made up his mind. Standing up (successfully this time), he stood with his back to the sun and held out a hand. Kairi took hold without hesitation, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet.

He smiled at her. “Okay, here goes.”

Raising their held hands up, Sora slid his other arm around Kairi’s waist and held her close. She seemed to understand immediately, lifting her other arm so it rested over his shoulder. They shared a shy smile before, with the sea to accompany them, they began to sway back and forth.

Neither noticed Riku watching through his long, eye-concealing hair, a ‘finally!’ smile curling his lips.

Kairi sighed happily, her head resting under Sora’s chin. With her ear to his chest, she thought she could hear his heart beating. “And you kept your promise.” She reached for Oathkeeper, holding her charm in her hand as they danced.

“It made me think of you and sometimes, when I got tired or wanted to give up, it reminded me why I had to keep going.”

“I can’t imagine you giving up.”

“I had our promise to keep me going.”

Kairi nodded. “And you wouldn’t be you if you gave in.”

Only the ocean broke the silence they momentarily held.

Bathed in morning light, he looked at her with eyes that shone. “Did I change?”

“Only for the better.” The light shone within her as well. “And me?”

Sora was blushing, Kairi’s heart lifting with joy to see him so bashful. Yet he didn’t look away. “You’re more beautiful than ever. The prettiest girl I’ve ever known.”

Tears gathered in her eyes again, some of them tumbling down her cheeks. “Thank you.” From him, it meant so much.

Their dance stilled.

He leaned closer, brushing her tears away with battle-worn hands that had never forgotten how to be gentle. “I love you.”

She held his hand to her cheek. “I love you too.”

And as the sun ignited the day, their first kiss was sealed in their hearts.

When they parted, neither could keep from smiling. “Sora…”

He hushed her and held her in his arms. “We’re home.”

Another part of this story wrote itself in my head on the way to university. I’ll get it up as soon as possible!

Thank you for reading.